


After the Storm

by Silenton



Series: Alone Together [3]
Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game), Life Is Strange 2 (Video Game)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Sexual Humor, Slow To Update, Songfic, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-28
Updated: 2020-02-16
Packaged: 2021-02-18 06:55:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 46,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21590347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silenton/pseuds/Silenton
Summary: Chris has been through a lot. Too much. But with a new environment, a fresh start, and his chosen family, he felt as if he could finally set things right for himself.Because after the storm is when the flowers bloom.
Relationships: Daniel Diaz & Sean Diaz, Daniel Diaz/Chris Eriksen, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Sean Diaz/Finn
Series: Alone Together [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1459936
Comments: 19
Kudos: 66





	1. fall.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Chris and Daniel start the school year, go on a field trip, spend their first Halloween together, and have themselves a 'me day.'
> 
> Word Count: 11.1k

"Hey, earth to Chris, you there?"

"Huh?" He looked to the boy next to him, staring slackjawed for a moment before acclimating to his current whereabouts. "Shoot, I'm sorry. Where, uh, where are we?"

"We're just pullin' into school, dude." Chris sat rigid in his seat, watching as their car neared closer and closer to the alien world of Peacock High School. He jumped, feeling Daniel's hand over his. "What? You feelin' nervous about your first day back?"

"No," Chris said meekly, looking up from Daniel's hand. "Just... a new school and all, you know?"

"Yeah, I feel ya. We'll get through this together, stay with me 'n' you'll be fine."

"Aren't you forgetting something, boys?" The two looked up to the front, to the man adjusting the rear-view window.

"Right," Daniel placed his hand into Esteban's, already extended.

"Remember that I'll be busy with work tonight, so Sean and Finn will be coming to pick you up instead."

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

"Have a good day at school, mi Hijo." Esteban smiled, squeezing his son's hand. "I love you."

Daniel slipped his hand from his father's. "Love you too, dad."

Daniel stepped out of the car, Chris following close behind, just as he was almost out of the car, he felt Esteban's hand on his shoulder. "Hold on a minute, Christopher."

He turned. "Yeah?"

"I just wanted to wish _you_ a good day in particular. I know how hard the first day of school can be. Not only in a new town where you know almost no one, this late into high school as well." He squeezed Chris' shoulder, a gesture he found strangely comforting. "I have faith that you'll do just fine, kiddo."

Chris smiled. "Thank you, Mr. Diaz."

"Now, what have I told you?" He gently taunted, tapping his shoulder. "You can call me Esteban, it's fine."

"Alright... thank you, _Esteban."_

"You're welcome. Now get out of here, you got a full day to get to."

"How you feelin' so far, dude?"

"Whaddya mean?"

"I mean, you look so nervous. What's up?"

"It's nothing. I just, I've never seen a school this _big_ before, that's all." In all honesty, Chris had never seen this many people grouped up like this in his whole sixteen years on this planet. Back in Beaver Creek, you'd be damned to find any graduating class that had over ninety students. But here in Seattle, Chris had lost count of how many new faces he had seen.

"It takes a little bit to get used to it, certainly did for me, at least. I-"

"DANIEL!"

Daniel almost tumbled to the ground, feeling the weight of the shape that nearly _leaped_ into his arms. It only took him a moment to identify them. "Oh shit, Grace?!"

She looked up, smiling. "Who else would it be, dumbass?" She placed her cheek on his chest, wrapping her arms tightly around his abdomen. "It's _so fucking good_ to see you again, dude."

"Shit, yeah. Must have been boring as hell without me, huh?"

"You cannot even begin to imagine, dude."

"Oh shit, I didn't even introduce you guys, huh?" Daniel wrapped his arm around Grace's shoulder, his grin stretching ear-to-ear. "Chris, this is Grace, one of my best friends back here in Seattle. Grace, this is Chris."

She titled her head. "What's someone like _you_ doin', hanging around Daniel, huh?"

"Huh? Oh, I-"

"I'm just fuckin' with you, dude." She pulled her hand from her jeans pocket, extending it to him. "It's nice to meet you. I've seen you all over Daniel's story."

_"His story?"_ Chris thought to himself. He took her hand, shaking it. "It's nice to meet you too."

"Come on, dude. You _have to_ sit down and tell us all about your crazy summer. Meet any cute girls while you were there?"

"I mean... I guess you could say that in one way or another..." He grinned his eyes quickly turning to Chris before averting back to Grace. If she had noticed, she had decided to ignore it. "Sorry, though. I was going to help Chris here with his schedule. You know, finding his classes 'n' shit."

She frowned for a second, before lighting up again. "You mind if I stick along, at least?"

"I dunno," he looked to Chris. "If you're fine with it..."

"Yeah, sure. I wouldn't mind the company."

"Alright then! Lead the way, newbie."

Chris wandered around the halls, nose-deep in his schedule. For a moment, Daniel silently wondered to himself how he hadn't managed to bump into any lockers or walls, or worse yet, another person.

"So, where'd ya go over the summer?"

Daniel turned to her, his brain taking a moment to catch up. "Me? Oh, I got sent over to, uh, Beaver Creek."

"Where's that?"

"Mmmh, it's a small town down in Oregon, you probably wouldn't know it."

"Well, alright," Grace said, fiddling with her jacket. "What'd you do to piss your dad off that much to send you to a shithole like that?"

"Hey! It isn't _that_ bad. Plus," he leaned into her, pointing to the boy ahead of them, "Chris is from there, so watch what you say."

"Oh, right. Sorry."

"I was... in a pretty bad place last year if you can remember. Dad thought it would be good for me to step away from all _this_ for a little while."

"Yeah," she sighed, looking up at him. "That makes sense. Just know, Daniel, that we were rooting for you back here. _All_ of us."

He smiled. "Thanks, Grace. That means a lot. It wasn't all bad, I had--"

"Hey, Danny?"

Daniel looked forward, Chris standing in the middle of the hallway. "Yeah? What's up, dude?"

"You sure we're even on the right side of the school? I haven't been able to find a single class since we started walking around."

"Well, why don't we--" he was cut off by the loud, shrill ringing of the bell.

She groaned, uttering a barely audible 'dammit' under her breath. "See you two later."

"Shit, I should head off too. See you later, Chris. I'll try to meet up with you during lunch."

"Alright, see ya." Chris had a feeling he didn't even hear him over the sounds of banter among other students.

To say the majority of Chris' day was uneventful would be an _understatement._ He began his day with his first hour; English. Chris had never quarreled with English. To him, it was just like any other class. His only issue laid with his teacher. He was a nice enough man, and Chris could tell he had a great sense of taste from his memorabilia on the shelves and movie posters that lined the walls of the classroom. He even played some music from his playlist while the class played an icebreaker game. 

What he struggled with, Chris noticed, was classroom control. After they had gotten done playing their game, the teacher had attempted to recollect the class to read the syllabus. Instead of flawlessly grabbing the class's attention to read through the rules of his classroom, what the teacher found himself doing instead was failing to keep their interest for more than a couple of minutes before they went back to their prior conversations. After almost five more minutes of trying to collect his class, he gave up, slumping down into his desk chair.

Chris' second hour was P.E., the class he had been dreading the most since the two boys had received their schedules after visiting the school for pictures. Chris had _never_ liked P.E., often the odd one out, the last picked as a result of his slender frame. His class was rather small, only about fifteen including him. The teacher was something else entirely. Over the summer, Daniel had managed to convince Chris to watch _Full Metal Jacket_ with him. Chris remembered clearly the drill sergeant, Hartman being Daniel's favorite, for all his one-liners. If he had to describe the P.E. teacher in any way, that's how Chris would have chosen. Chris remembered the sound of his booming voice, commandeering the group of boys into the locker room to collect their locks.

His third hour, art, was a place of solace. The teacher was a nice woman, explaining the year ahead to the class as she handed out materials and assigned filing cabinets to hold their projects. For the remainder of the class period, the students were free to do what they wanted, allowing Chris the opportunity to practice doodling, humming along silently to the student-made playlist as students worked on other school work and talked amongst themselves.

Lunch had its ups. For example, he shared the same lunch wave as Daniel. Lunch had its downs. Grace also shared their lunch wave. The two gabbed the whole lunch period, continuing to catch up about what they did. Daniel, his time spent in Beaver Creek with Claire and Stephen, with Chris. Grace, her late-night movie sessions with the rest of the group, their dinners at the local diner. Chris, the awkward third wheel.

He sighed, slipping between student after student, settling down in a lone seat at the back of the room. _"At least the view's nice..."_ he thought to himself, settling down into his chair.

"Chris?" He looked up, watching as Daniel strode across the room, plopping his folders onto the table next to him. "Shit, you've got this class too?"

"Yeah..." 

"Why didn't you tell me?" Daniel leaned onto the table, his chin in the palm of his hand. He ran his fingers along the bottom of the table, grimacing and yanking his hand away at the feeling of old chewing gum.

"I tried, but..."

"But what?"

"I dunno, just... you and Grace. You guys talked the whole time."

Daniel laughed. "What? Can't I catch up with my friends?" He grinned, leaning into Chris. "You gettin' jealous?"

"What? No! It's just that--" Chris' face grew redder as the seconds went by, sending Daniel into deeper and deeper fits of laughter.

The class quieted down, turning their attention to the source of the ringing, the front of the room. A taller man stood behind the pedestal. "Good afternoon, students. I hope you all had a nice lunch. Not too much drama on your first day, hopefully." He let the class have a moment to laugh amongst themselves before continuing. "As some of you already know, I'm Mr. Zidek, and right now you're in science. Now, before I begin, I'd like you to check your schedules quickly. Don't want any of you to be in the wrong class on your first days." He looked around, watching them sit idly in their chairs. "Nobody? Alright then, let's begin."

Daniel slammed the trunk down, quickly rushing to the right side of the car and tumbling in, throwing his head back against the headrest. He let out a long sigh. "Thaaaaaank _fuck_ you guys have the A.C. on, it's too hot for this shit."

The car began it's way back home. "Well," Sean murmured, "drives much smoother than it did last time."

"And who do you have to thank for _that,_ huh?"

"You just got lucky," Sean snickered, watching Finn's offended look from the corner of his eye. "Seriously though; thank you for giving my dad a helping hand. God knows I know jackshit about cars and all that."

Finn made a humming sound. "No offense, sweetie," he began, as he placed his feet up on the dashboard, "but I could kinda tell."

"So, how was your first day at school?"

"Huh?" Chris looked up, watching Sean fiddle with the rear-view mirror.

"How was your day? I was just wondering since it's your first official school year here in Seattle and all."

"It was... okay, I guess."

"'Okay?'" Finn looked back to the boy. "Whaddya mean by 'okay?'"

"I dunno." Chris shrugged, looking out the window for a moment, before reluctantly returning his gaze to Finn. "It's boring, that's all. My classes aren't great, to be honest. The only ones that are pretty okay are art and science."

"We've got science together!" Daniel grinned, finding it impossible to stay quiet for any longer. "My day was fine, by the way, thanks for asking. _Sean."_ He glared at his brother, before returning to his tangent. "My day was _great,_ a lot of my schedule overlapped with Noah's and Grace's, and I--"

"Grace?" Finn physically turned himself around in his seat, looking at Daniel. "I haven't heard her name in a long, _long_ time. How's she doin'?"

"She's doing fine! She told me all about the shit that I missed out on during the summer, and--"

"Excuse me," Sean began, tapping his fingers on the wheel along to the beat of the song, "Chris, you mentioned something about art?"

"Oh... it's nothing, just drawing 'n' stuff."

"Drawing, you said?" Sean furrowed his brow, his mouth straightened out into a thin line. "I didn't know you drew."

"Sean!" Daniel rose in his seat, "You should see Chris' shit, he's good. Maybe even better than you."

Sean rolled his eyes, listening to Daniel's tone, oozing with confidence and self-satisfaction. "Fine. Chris, maybe you can show us some of your work?"

"Uh, sure." Chris pulled his backpack from the floor of the car, unzipping it and pulling it out with great care. "Sorry in advance, a lot of it is unfinished stuff, I never got around to--"

"Yeah, yeah, lemme see this!" Chris leaned back, listening to each _'ooh'_ and _'ah'_ that came from Finn's mouth as he looked through the small book. "Sean," Finn finally breathed, running his fingers across the pages, "you _need_ to check this out."

"Alright then," Sean sighed, pulling over to the side of the road, watching the cars race by for a second, "gimme it."

"Oh," Chris laughed nervously, picking at his jeans. "you... don't need to do all of that for me. Let's get home and--"

"No," Sean smiled, taking the notebook from Finn's hands. "I want to see what Daniel and Finn like about your drawings."

Chris felt himself shaking, watching as Sean opened the notebook. He sat nervously, staring down at his feet, listening to each turn of the page, each click of the tongue. Chris nearly jumped from his skin when Sean handed his notebook back to him.

"Chris."

"Yes?" Chris cursed to himself, embarrassed at the high pitch to his voice. _"What do I feel so nervous about?"_

"You're really, _really_ good. When did you start drawing?"

Chris was _beaming_ with excitement in that car. Daniel tried to stifle his snickering, watching as Chris practically bounced up an down in his seat, grinning from ear-to-ear. "I've always been drawing, but I probably got really into it when I was about... maybe nine? Ten?"

"That's so cool." Chris looked in the mirror, seeing Sean smiling himself as he started the car up again, turning back onto the road. "It's always great to see young artists." A moment of silence passed as Sean focused on driving, picking up the conversation where he had left it afterward. "So, what do you think you're going to do after high school?"

Chris was taken aback by the question. "I, uh... I don't know, to be honest. I haven't thought about it all that much."

"Well," Sean's eyes darted from the road to Chris. "I think you should give drawing a try. You certainly have the talent for it. You could do amazing things."

Chris' smile deepened. "You... you think so?"

"Yeah, you should look into it."

"Alright... thanks, Sean." Chris smiled to himself the rest of the ride home, listening to Daniel and Finn bicker over who got to control the radio, to Sean being the deciding factor in the vote and taking the radio for himself, watching the world pass by.

Daniel _lunged_ out from the car, taking a few running steps on the driveway pavement before stopping himself. He turned his head, watching as Chris rounded by the other side of the car, opening the trunk for their backpacks. "Hey," Daniel edged towards Finn's side of the car, leaning on the still-open window, "why aren't you guys getting out?"

"Sorry, lil' man," Finn sang, leaning back into his seat, "we've gotta head out to pick up Hans 'n' Cass, we're going on a double date tonight."

"Oh." Daniel pursed his lips. "Well... have fun with _that,_ I guess."

"Tell dad we said hi, alright?" Sean leaned against the steering wheel, looking at his brother. "We should be home by midnight, tell him not to wait on us. See you later, enano."

"Huh, my dad ain't here." He shrugged, re-positioning his backpack on his shoulder. "He's probably downstairs again." He moved towards the basement, opening the door. "I'm just gonna tell him we're home."

Chris watched as Daniel disappeared behind the basement door, eventually finding his way into Daniel's room. _Their_ room, for the moment. "Hey, Mushroom." The dog raised her head, sniffing at the air before lowering herself back down. He sighed, placing his backpack to lean against Daniel's desk. As he stretched, his eyes scanned the room around him. He scoffed as he closed in on the air mattress on the floor, long abandoned for Daniel's bed. Chris remembered the first night at the Diaz residence. He remembered Daniel expressing that Sean's old room would be open for him to use upon his arrival. He almost died on the spot of embarrassment as the two entered the room, unchanged from when he had last seen it a few months prior. When confronted, Esteban passed it off as Sean not taking much to college, aside from some blankets and his drawing materials. The blow-up bed was alright-- for a little while, at least. It didn't take long for Daniel to convince Chris to sleep in his bed, and in all honesty, Chris didn't mind one bit.

Stepping over the air mattress, Chris found himself in front of Daniel's closet. He cringed, the door creaking open as he pulled. He stared into the closet, gazing at all the old toys hidden away. Near the back laid a ragged yeti doll, faded and long-torn from years of play with child and dog alike. Beside it, an old, broken robot toy, missing one leg and both of its arms. And in the deepest, darkest corner of the closet, Chris could've sworn that as he stared into space ahead of him, he saw what looked like an alien doll staring right back at him. _"Ew. Creepy."_

He closed the closet door, stepping over the air mattress one more time as he stepped in front of Daniel's desk. _"I'll give it to him,"_ he thought to himself, _"he has a lot of nice things in here."_ Aside from movie posters of things they had watched together during their streaming parties and pictures of him with Grace and who he had recognized as Noah from Daniel's conversation in the hallway, Chris' attention was piqued by one lone drawing of Power Bear, sitting just above the desk.

"Hey," Daniel laughed, closing the door behind him, his backpack still strung over his shoulder, "I hope you weren't doin' anything creepy in here while I was gone." He placed himself next to Chris. "Whatcha doin'?"

"Nothin' much," Chris hummed, "just looking around."

Daniel's eyes met where Chris' eyes laid. "Damm, s'pretty cool, huh?"

"Yeah," Chris smiled, leaning into him. "Did you...?"

"Me?" he chuckled. "Nah, never was too good at drawing. My brother drew that, I've told you before how good he is at that art shit."

The two of them stood there for a while, Daniel's arm wrapped around Chris, Chris' head on Daniel's shoulder. Daniel sighed, retracting his arm and letting it flop to his side. Inching forward, he plopped his bookbag onto the desk. "You know anything about math?"

"Uhh, sorta?" Chris hummed, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "Why do you ask?"

"The teacher's already handing out homework 'n' I have no fuckin' clue what I'm supposed to be doing. Can you see if you understand any of this?"

"Well," Chris began, kneeling next to Daniel in his seat, "I can try."

_When everybody wants to be somebody_

_They all care_

_And everybody wants to know themselves_

_We’re too scared, we’re still figuring it out_

The subsequent months were almost routine. Between watching teachers try to keep their classes together, listening to friends (acquaintances, more than anything) of Daniel blither on about weekend plans of partying, and making attempts to befriend other students, Chris found time to spend his after-school shenanigans and weekends with Daniel. He still felt nervous around his family, alien even. But as long as Daniel was there for him, it all felt right.

It was a crisp October afternoon when Mr. Zidek stood in front of the classroom, just as eager as the rest of the class. Well, almost the rest.

"Alright, kids, settle down." He grinned, hushing his students as they made side conversations about their lunch period. "I know, I know, you're excited! Our field trip is tomorrow!"

Chris looked up from his notebook. His eyes darted around the room, trying to see if anyone else was lost. _"Field trip?"_

"Yep," he continued, clasping his hands together in front of him. "It's the big day tomorrow, our trip to Ape Cave!" He paced back and forth, the students' eyes following him "Today, I'd finally like to go over a little bit of what we'll be seeing during our trip, and what exactly we'll be doing while we're there, if you'd open your computers you'll see that--"

Chris groaned, falling back into his seat. "Field trip? I don't remember any of this."

"Dude, seriously?" Daniel snorted, turning away from the glow of his computer screen "How could you _not_ remember? He's been talking about it for _weeks_ now. He even mentioned it on the syllabus during our first day."

"Hey, you two? What're you doing back there?"

"Huh?" Chris looked up, watching as the entire class turned around to him and Daniel.

"Well, I was wondering what you two were talking about. Since it seems to be so compelling, you wouldn't mind sharing with the rest of the class, correct?"

"Oh, no. I was just-- I was asking a question about the field trip, I'm sorry."

"Well," Zidek began, clicking his tongue, "that's great that you're so keen on asking for clarification. But if you have any other questions about the field trip, please raise your hand instead of disrupting other students. Understood?"

"Y-yes, Mr. Zidek." Chris felt his face burning bright red, listening to small snickers dispersed throughout the class. He sighed, brushing his hands over his face. He tilted his head, hissing towards Daniel. "Does Esteban know about this?"

"I mean, yeah, why wouldn't he? I've already gotten him to sign our permission slips. We're all ready to go." He punched Chris' shoulder, a playful gesture.

"Ow." Chris pouted, rubbing his sore shoulder. "I just think it's dumb that--"

"Stop being such a baby about it. It'll be fun." Daniel wrapped his arm around his waist, making sure no one else could see them. "Trust me."

Chris smiled, squeezing his hand. "If you say so..."

"Man, would it fucking kill these motherfuckers to wear some goddammed deodorant for one goddammed day?" Chris cackled, listening to Daniel find one thing or another to complain about. Whether it be the loud conversations of the kids around them, the fact that Zidek had forgotten to mention that they would be riding a regular old school bus to the cave and not a fancy coach bus, the fact that they had to sit packed like sardines, or the fact that the kid to the seat beside them had a supposed problem with his B.O.

"So," Chris began, pulling the earbud from his ear, "you're sure Grace was alright with you not buddying up with her?

"Yeah, she said I 'owed her' for making her pair up with Noah instead, but look at them back there." The two turned their heads, watching as just a few seats behind, the two of them were chatting up a storm. "She'll be fine, I promise you."

Piling off the bus after three and a half hours of sitting, the class found themselves face-to-face with a tall, rugged, mountain-man type. "Good afternoon, everyone. I assume your Mr. Zidek?" He shook the teacher's hand, smiling a warm, bright smile.

"Yes, that would be me. Sorry, we took so long, we got a little lost along the way here. I would assume you're Elijah?"

"Yep, that would be me."

"Kids," Zidek began, directing the class' attention to the other man in front of them. "This is Mr. Elijah, our guide for today."

Elijah looked over the class, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Clifford! Get your ass over here!" Another man, much younger, or at least younger-looking than Elijah roamed over, placing himself next to the taller man. "So, today we'll be breaking you into two groups. One group will go out to explore the cave early, while the other," he grinned, clapping his hands together, "will get to do a little shopping in the gift shop." He turned to Mr. Zidek. "Why don't you break them up?"

"With pleasure," Zidek chimed, stepping in front of his class. "Let's see... Tania and Leopold, Ronny and Boyd, Archie and Fabio, Debbie and Kate, and Chris and Daniel. You ten will head into the cave first with me." He turned his head to the teacher's assistant, a smaller woman named Heidi. "The rest of you will head to the gift shop with Ms. Heidi and..."

"Clifford." The class snickered, watching the short man turn beet red, tapping his foot rhythmically against the pavement.

"Yes, Clifford, I'm so sorry. The rest of you will head to the gift shop with Ms. Heidi and Clifford, understood?"

"Damm," Daniel teased, nudging Grace beside him. "Buy yerself somethin' pretty while you're there, I guess."

"Yeah, haha. Fuck you." She stuck her tongue out at him, following Noah and the rest of the group, following the geeky tour guide to the gift shop.

"Please, students, follow me. We'll begin our tour now."

If there was one thing that Chris was thankful for, it was that he took a coat with him on the trip. Daniel teased him for it on the whole ride to school, but as they delved deeper and deeper into the cave, Chris could tell Daniel regretted doing so, shivering ever so slightly.

"What?" Chris grinned, nudging the figure beside him, "You feeling a little cold? Wanna borrow my jacket?"

"Fu--, fuck you.”

"Now," the guide exclaimed, stopping the group. "I'd like to warn you all to watch where you're stepping from here on out. Because of the water dripping down, there are dangers of--"

Chris felt Daniel's hand on his shoulder. He lowered his phone, making sure that the camera app was still up. "What's up?"

"Come over here for a second."

Chris looked up at him. "...What?"

"You heard me, follow me over here."

"But we're supposed to--"

"Yeah, yeah," Daniel interrupted, taking Chris' hand in his own, "'we're supposed to stay with the tour guide,' _fuck_ that, we're going on a detour."

Despite his best attempts to circumvent this, Chris found himself being strung along by Daniel nonetheless. He found himself turning his head back more times than he cared to admit, nervous of the idea of Zidek or Elijah or anybody else hunting them down for abandoning their group. After walking through the deep, dark caverns for a while, Daniel stopped, turning to Chris.

"Alright, what's up?"

"Nothing," Daniel hummed, stepping closer to Chris. "Just wanted to get away from that guide, I was dyin' of boredom listening to him."

Chris laughed. "I thought you were the one saying that this field trip was supposed to be fun?"

"Dude... shut up."

Chris giggled as Daniel placed kisses across his face and along his neck. "Danny, that tickles," he whined, wrapping his arms around the back of Daniel's neck. It was nice. Quiet.

They jumped, their eyes adjusting to the light that enveloped them from out of nowhere. "Hey! You two, why aren't you with your group?"

"Shit," Daniel hissed, stepping backward. "We've gotta go, dude."

"What? What do you mean?" Chris watched Daniel bolt off, the darkness of the cave enveloping him. He tried to run. But as soon as he made his move, he felt himself being pulled back, the grip of the nerdy tour guide being much stronger than he thought.

"Ow! Let go of me!"

"Just what in the hell are you doing away from your group?"

Chris grimaced, making sure to meet eye-to-eye with the oily, acne-ridden guide. He couldn't have been much older than himself, Chris thought. "H-hey, uh, _dude,_ we just-- I fell behind while I was tying my shoe, right? And my friend, being the sweet guy he is, decided to stay behind with me. We were _just_ on our way back to our group, actually, so if you'll just let go of my arm, I'll--"

"No way in hell I'm doin' that." He swore under his breath. "Goddamn city kids, so fuckin' stuck-up 'n' full of themselves."

_"Shoot,"_ Chris swore, _"Danny's so much better at this."_ He laughed, an awkward, dry sound. "Okay, okay. You've got me. Me 'n' my... friend were exploring, we didn't mean to do anything wrong."

"Just you wait 'til--" A scream rang out, echoing throughout the cave. "What the fuck was that?"

_"Maybe the guys are messing around 'n' scaring the girls? No,"_ he thought to himself, _"that was deeper. Much deeper. That had to have been..."_ His throat dropped to his stomach. He pulled from the guide's clutch, his wrist stinging as his legs ran through the dark caverns, his mind through troubling thoughts. He yelled out, his phone as a flashlight in hand. Chris felt like he had been running forever when he finally stumbled upon what he was searching for. "Danny!"

Chris could see that Daniel was holding back tears as he kneeled next to him, his face contorting in all different matters. "Danny, what happened, are you--" he tried moving Daniel, yanking his hand away as he let out a loud yelp of pain.

"I was running, and I slipped and fell on my arm. Jesus _FUCK,_ it hurts," he wailed, gasping out a jumble of incoherent words in between deep, pained sobs, clutching his left wrist to himself, swollen and bent awkwardly to the right.

"Jesus Christ, what happened here?"

Chris turned to the guide, his breath hitching in his throat. "He landed on his wrist funny. I think it's broken."

"Oh God, I-- I'll go get Elijah, he should know what to do. Just, just sit here for a minute, I'll be right back." They laid there for a moment, Daniel trying with all this might to hold back any tears that might fall. After what felt like ten minutes of waiting, Elijah emerged from the darkness, with Zidek following close behind.

"Oh my God, Daniel, are you okay?" Zidek kneeled next to him, his eyes filled with worry, guilt, even.

"Yeah, little buddy," Elijah cooed, squatting down next to the boy, "what happened here?”

He frowned, looking at his wrist, still clutched tightly against his chest. "So," he gazed at Chris, "you said you think it's broken?"

He nodded, his lip trembling. "What're we gonna do?"

"Well," Elijah pursed his lips, tapping his chin for a moment, "we've gotta assess the damage before we do anything else." He placed his hand on Daniel's shoulder, an attempt to reassure him. "Now, I'm just gonna... push on your wrist a little bit, you make sure to tell me when it hurts. You got it?" Daniel could only nod, biting his lip as he released the vice grip on his wrist. Taking a deep breath in, he pushed the side of Daniel's wrist, cringing as the boy screamed out in pain, a stray tear rolling down his cheek. "Yep," he confirmed, looking to the two before him. "It's definitely broken. We need to get him to a hospital to take care of this, stat."

"Let me take him," Zidek insisted. "He's my student, my responsibility. I should've been watching him more closely, and yet I didn't, and now he's injured himself."

Mr. Zidek relinquished his duties to Heidi, instructing her to break for lunch, and then pile onto the school bus for the long ride back home. Few students straggled behind, trying to see what had happened for themselves. Among those was Grace. "Jesus Christ, Daniel! Your arm--"

"What, this?" Daniel smiled meekly, tapping his swollen wrist. "I'll be fine, Gracie. Don't you worry 'bout me, alright?"

"But you--"

"Hey, Ms. Moore," Zidek smiled sweetly, "why don't you head to lunch with the rest of the students? Don't worry, we've got it all covered from here."

As much as she didn't like it, Grace didn't have much reason to argue with him over this. She huffed, turning away and stomping towards a larger group of students.

"Are you sure it's fine for you to take us to the hospital in your car? Don't you need to get back to work?"

"It's fine. Your class is the only people that we expected to come today. I won't miss much."

"Wait!" Chris called out, running behind the three of them. "Can... can I come with you guys? To the hospital, I mean?"

"Chris," Zidek began, "you've already done so much for us, helping find Daniel and such. Why don't you go back and sit with the rest of--"

"No." Zidek turned. "I want him with me."

"Are you... are you sure?" Zidek crossed his arms, looking nervously from Daniel to Chris and back again. "We need to --"

"He can call my dad. He has his number."

His patience began to wear thin, his foot tapping against the pavement. "So do I."

"Just... please." Daniel whimpered, cradling his wrist. "I want him with me."

He looked between the two, before turning to Elijah.

"Hey, man, it's your call. You're the adult here.”

He sighed heavily. "Alright, if you say so. Chris, follow us. We're taking Mr. Elijah's car to the hospital."

The ride was long, taking them almost half an hour to reach the nearest hospital. "It hurts, Chris."

"I know, Danny, I know. Just hang in there, alright?" To pass the time, Chris showed him the pictures he'd taken and listened to Zidek make awkward, occasional small talk with the guide over his job.

They thanked Elijah for the ride, the two boys watching him drive off outside. "What're you two waiting for? We need to get you checked in, Daniel."

"Good afternoon, how may I help you three today?" The woman situated at the front desk had a flame in her eyes, a flame only those who have been in their profession for a long time possess.

"Hi, ma'am, we would like to check-in." 

"Well, what's the problem?"

"I'm a teacher at Peacock High in Seattle, I was taking my class to Ape Cave at the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument and my student here had an accident while we were there. We think he's broken his wrist."

"Alright," she turned her attention towards Daniel, "what's your name, sir?"

"D-Daniel. Daniel Diaz."

"Well, Mr. Daniel Diaz, why don't you sit down in the waiting room, we'll bring you in when we're ready for you."

Daniel groaned. "Can't they make these fuckin' chairs any softer? Almost broke my ass sitting down."

Chris chuckled. _"Well,"_ he thought to himself, _"he seems better if you can say_ that. _If he has enough energy to complain, then that's a good sign."_

"It's... probably a good idea to call my dad. Better to rip that band-aid off now."

He was right, as much as Chris hated to admit it. He rose up from his seat, stretching out. "I'll... go call him now."

"Go ahead," Zidek smiled, placing his hand gingerly on Daniel's shoulder. "I'll watch him.

Chris practically _forced_ himself to walk through those double doors, out into the open, holding them open for an elderly couple on the way out. His hands shaking, he tapped Esteban's icon in his contacts, initiating a call. He stood anxiously, listening to the dial tone go once. Twice. Three times. Four, followed by five. Just as Chris began to contemplate hanging up and trying to call again, he heard crackling, and then, a voice. "Christopher!" His breath hitched in his throat. "How's your little field trip going?"

He swallowed hard. "It's... uh, it's going fine." He lied, feeling his teeth chattering. " _Please_ don't be mad at me, but something bad happened."

"What do you mean?"

"Well," he hesitated, pacing back and forth, running his free hand through his hair. "I was taking photos of the cave, but Danny got bored of just standing around. So he pulled me away from the rest of the group."

"Now, why would he do something like that?" Chris cringed, hearing the slight annoyance in his voice. "I thought you two were supposed to stay with your teacher."

"I know, I know." He sighed, twirling a stray strand of his hair around his fingers. "We just wanted to... _fuck._ I don't know, we were just having fun." He had to pace himself, blinking away the tears that stung his eyes. "Daniel hurt himself, really _badly.”_

Esteban's silence was _deafening._ "...How?"

"We got caught by the other tour guide, and Daniel ran off. He grabbed me and started asking me what we were doing so far away from our group. But when we heard Daniel scream, we both ran." Chris could feel himself shaking. "Jesus Christ, his wrist... I'm _so sorry,_ Esteban. If I would've known what would happen, I would've done something, _anything_ to stop him. I wouldn't have--"

"Chris... stop. It's not your fault." Chris could hear him sigh across the phone. "Are you okay, at least?"

"Yeah, I'm... I'm doing alright."

"Alright. I'll head out right now to be with you two. Where are you at?"

Chris slumped down into the chair to the right of Daniel. "Ugh, you were right about these chairs," he whined. "How're you holding up?"

Daniel smiled. It was a weak, tired smile, but a smile nonetheless. "Wrist hurts like a fucking bitch," he whimpered, squeezing Chris' hand with his good hand, "but you're here with me, so it's all worth it."

"Daniel Diaz?"

"Oh! That must be us." Chris rose from his seat, helping Daniel up before escorting him to the young woman standing in front of the double doors.

"I'm sorry," the nurse smiled, Chris could see that her name was Bea from her nametag, "but only immediate family is allowed from here on out."

"What? I live with him, isn't that enough?"

"Well," she continued, "unless you two are related, I can't let you in with him."

Chris tightened his grip on Daniel's good arm. "You don't understand, I need to stay with him. I--"

"Chris." Daniel nudged him. "It'll be fine, I'll be okay. Just go sit in the waiting room, you'll need to be here so dad 'n' the rest know we're here anyway."

"I... okay. I'll be over there then." He leaned into Daniel, placing a kiss on the side of his head. "Good luck in there."

Daniel laughed. "Dude, I'm not gonna die in there, alright? But..." he smiled, reciprocating with a peck on the lips. "Thanks for the vote of confidence anyways."

Chris chuckled. "Look at you, better already. Using big phrases and everything."

"Fuck you, dude." Daniel grinned, before beginning to follow the nurse. Chris watched anxiously as Daniel followed her, glancing back at him every other second before disappearing behind the set of double doors.

_Swinging on a cable up to Po Lin_

_Climbing panda, ghostly wine, and a battery_

_That light in your eyes I search for religiously_

_When it’s not there, oh Lord, it’s hurting me_

_I got away for a little while_

_But then it came back much harder_

Chris grunted, bumping the fridge door closed with his hips. It was a chilly Saturday morning, two weeks after the incident in Ape Cave, and the boys found themselves home alone.

"Here," he smiled, handing the paper plate to Daniel. One peanut butter sandwich, crusts cut off and in triangles.

"Oh, Chris-- Mushroom, get goin'," Daniel shooed the dog from the couch before placing the sandwich to the seat beside him. "You didn't need to do all this for me. I said I'd find something to snack on."

"No," Chris said, placing the plate back into Daniel's lap before sitting down next to him, "the doctors said you need to rest." He looked to the cast on his arm, sitting in its sling. "How is it doing, anyway?"

"Better than before." He laughed. "S'funny, I used to make fun of Sean the time he broke his leg when I was six. He'd hobble around the house on his little crutched 'n' everything, it was the funniest thing to me for some reason. Guess this is my karma, huh?"

"You need to stop thinking like that," Chris hummed, leaning into Daniel gently as he placed his head on his shoulder, "you've got to think on the bright side."

"Yeah? Enlighten me, what is this 'bright side' that you're speaking of?"

"Well," Chris began, sitting on his heels, leaning on Daniel again for support, "look how many people signed your cast."

Daniel looked to his cast, marveling at it. Chris had him beat there, all sorts of signatures and well-wishes from friends and family alike lined the neon-green plaster wrapped around his arm. "Dude, half the cast is taken up by Sean's drawing of 'Shroom."

"It's still something!"

He chuckled. "Whatever you say, dude."

"Well, Mr. Grumpy-Pants, I think I have an idea of how to fix your sour mood."

"Yeah?" Daniel smirked, readjusting himself in his seat. "Well, lay it on me, dude."

"So, you know how Halloween is coming up soon, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you have any plans for that night?"

"Dunno, probably just pass out candy to kids with Dad 'n' the rest," he said matter-of-factly, scratching at his cast.

"Danny, you can't--"

He sighed. "Yeah, yeah." He threw his head back, blowing his bangs from his eyes "What were _you_ thinking?"

Chris grinned, bouncing up and down on his heels. "What would you think of going trick-or-treating this year?"

Daniel scoffed, looking at Chris. "Oh," his lips creased into a frown. "You weren't joking?"

"Come on, Danny. What's wrong with trick-or-treating?"

"Nothing," he began, "if you're under the age of twelve, maybe."

"I'm serious, Daniel," Chris pouted, rushing off into their room for a minute before returning with his notebook. "I was thinking maybe... we could do matching costumes!"

Daniel raised his brow. "That... doesn't sound like a _horrible_ idea."

"See!" Chris grinned ear-to-ear, holding his notebook to his chest. "I told you it'd help with your mood."

"Now, hold on for a minute. I said it didn't _seem_ bad." He stretched out, placing his feet on the coffee table. "Show me what we're working with."

"Well," Chris began, flipping through his notebook, finding his designs. He turned the notebook to Daniel. "Here's what I was thinking..."

Daniel whined, fidgeting on the edge of the bathtub. "Are you done yet? My ass is about to fall asleep, dude."

"Almost, just hold your horses." Chris leaned forward towards Daniel's face, focusing on his canvas with extreme care. He grinned, applying the final stroke of the brush to his face. "All done! Come look in the mirror." With Chris' help, Daniel rose from his seat on the edge of the tub, rubbing his sore behind as he inched towards the mirror. He placed his arm around Daniel's shoulder. "Well, what do you think?"

Daniel tilted his head, looking at his face. It was the design that Chris had envisioned for him over the summer; the same dark circles around his eyes, the same whiskers on his cheeks, the same fangs protruding from the sides of his mouth. "It's... _different,_ that's for sure."

Chris' face scrunched up in the mirror. "Now what is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," Daniel leaned into Chris, placing his head atop Chris', "it looks nice." He motioned to their so-called armor, made up of stray boxes of soda and beer. "Looks handmade." He snickered as Chris gave him a playful shove. "So, we ready to head out?"

"Almost. We need to figure out what we're gonna use for our candy."

"Well, I don't know about you," he began, "but I'm all set." He grinned, giving his sling a slight wiggle.

"Danny... you can't be serious."

"Why not? It's multifunctional, it holds my arm _and_ my candy! What more could you want?"

"You need an actual bag, Danny. It's warm in there, your candy's gonna melt if you stick it all in there."

"Well, I--" Daniel began, stopping himself. "You're... ugh, you're right." He sighed, taking his elbow in his good hand. "Well, what're we gonna do, then?"

"I dunno... maybe your family has something we can borrow?"

"Alright then," he shrugged, stepping towards the door. He opened it slowly, motioning to it with a flick of his head. "Well, ladies first."

"You're such an asshole."

Daniel chuckled. "Yeah, but you love it."

"Jesus, how many tots do they got runnin' through the streets tonight?" Finn groaned, leaning against the counter as he scrolled through his phone.

Sean grinned leaning into the door behind him. "Isn't that the best part though, seeing all their little costumes 'n' everything?"

Daniel pulled Chris back into the bathroom. "I dunno about this, dude. Don't they seem a little busy?"

"Well, we can at least _try_ to ask them, right?" He paced into the kitchen, pulling Daniel behind him. "Hey," he asked, "do you guys have anything to hold candy in?"

"I mean yeah. This bowl right here," Finn looked up from his phone, "What do you need it fo-ho-hooollyyy _shit!_ Sweetie, get back here, you've got to see this!"

"Just a minute, dude." He turned back to the group of children on their doorstep, smiling. "Happy Halloween." He took a moment to look at the two boys head-to-toe. "Where are you two headed to be all dressed up for?"

"Well-- don't make fun of us," he interrupted himself, sighing heavily, "but we were gonna... go trick-or-treating, and we were--"

"You guys are really gonna step out like... _that?"_

"Like what?" Esteban emerged from the basement, large bags of candy under each arm. "Sorry it took so long," he expressed, placing the bags down on the counter, pushing them towards Finn, "traffic was crazy. I was able to get more candy for our little guests, though."

"Thank God," Sean exhaled, leaning back against the door. "We were beginning to run low, so I had to use some from Daniel's stash."

Daniel's eyes widened. "You so did not."

"Well..."

"Sean, you--" he turned, rushing to his room. "If I see one Kiss out of place, you're dead!"

The four of them watched as he snaked his way into his room, slamming the door behind him on the way. "So," Esteban said, placing his keys on the counter next to Sean and Finn's shared own shared pair, "it looks like you two are trick-or-treating tonight, huh?"

"Y-yes, sir." Chris smiled meekly, swinging his body back and forth, bouncing on the heels of his feet.

"What'd it take for lil' Danny Boy to convince you to do that?"

"Actually," Chris corrected, straightening up, "I was the one to convince him."

Sean scoffed. "Yeah right. _You?_ Convincing _Daniel?_ I find that hard to believe."

"Well, I just thought that he needed some other way to spend his time rather sitting around and moping all day, so why not get out of the house for one night? Together?"

Esteban smiled, placing his hand on Chris' shoulder. "I think that's a _great_ idea."

"So," Finn shouted over the sound of candy being dumped into the plastic bowl. "You make them costumes yerself?"

"Yeah, actually." He lifted his chest plate into view. "I didn't have much to work with, so I kinda used some of the recyclables around the house. Sorry 'bout that."

"It's fine," Esteban laughed, patting Chris on the shoulder. "At least _somebody's_ using them."

"You lied to me," Daniel pouted, exiting his room and finding his place again, next to Chris. "You fucker."

"Language!"

"But dad, he--" Daniel turned to Chris, hoping for at least _some_ form of backup, but the look of amusement on his face was more than enough. "Yeah, yeah. Sorry." He grumbled.

"Oh! That reminds me," Chris nudged Daniel, "since we're heading out, we were wondering if you guys had anything to hold candy in."

"I'm pretty sure there are some old pillowcases in the basement you two could use. Follow me, I'll show you."

The two ran throughout the night without a care in the world. Not for the younger ones staring with wonder over their homemade costumes, not for the parents of the younger ones giving them dirty looks. Not even for a couple of doors the next few streets over that ask if they're 'a little old to be trick-or-treating.' They felt alive, young, free, having the times of their lives.

"Wow," Chris gasped, staring into his bag. "She _actually_ gave us full-sized bars!"

"Yeah," Daniel stretched his arm out, handing his bag to Chris. "Ms. Grant is pretty cool. Kinda sad, though. You know she moved here not too long ago, right?"

"What happened?"

"She doesn't talk much about it. But from what she _has_ said, it seems like some freak tornado tore through her old town. Lots of people died, guess staying there was too painful. Memories and all that, y'know?"

"Hey!" They looked, watching as the figure calling out to them inched closer and closer, her ponytail bouncing behind her along the way.

"Heh, nice makeup, Gracie."

"I know, right? I thought some eyeshadow 'n' lipstick wouldn't hurt tonight. So, what're you two doing?" She looked them up-and-down. "And why are you dressed like that?"

"We're trick-or-treating!"

"Yeah," Daniel smiled softly. "It ain't too bad, s'kinda fun, actually."

"That sounds like fun," She rolled her head, readjusting the choker around her neck. "I was actually on my way to Noah's little Halloween party. He said we were all supposed to come in costume, but I doubt anyone's _actually_ gonna do that."

"Shit," Daniel hissed, "Noah's throwin' a party?"

"Yeah. You can come with me if you want." She looked at Chris, smiling. "You can come along too if you want. I'm sure that Noah won't mind another guest. The more the merrier, right?"

Daniel clicked his tongue, his mind racing. After what felt like minutes of silence, he finally spoke up. "Y'know, I'd _love_ to come," he began, swaying back and forth. "but... me 'n' Chris got a really good flow going here. I think... I think I'll sit this one out, Grace. Tell everyone that I said hi, though!"

Grace made a small, matter-of-fact sound. "Well, alright then. Hope that F.O.M.O. doesn't hit _too hard,_ Daniel." She walked forward a couple of paces, before stopping. "And Chris..."

"Yes?"

"I like your facepaint. Feels kinda... Marvel-y."

The two watched her leave, taking an occasional skip in her step. Chris turned to Daniel. "Danny, you didn't have to do that. If you wanted to go, I wouldn't have been upset."

"Nah," he smiled. "Partying with Grace 'n' the rest of them _is_ fun, but I think I'd rather spend the rest of the night with my boyfriend."

Chris felt shivers up his spine. Sure, he had heard himself referred to as Daniel's boyfriend by others. But to hear it straight from his own mouth? Pure ecstasy.

Daniel nudged him, shaking him from his thoughts. "Well, let's get going, dude. I heard the next house gives out even _bigger_ bars than Ms. Grant."

Chris grinned, linking his arm with Daniel's. "Alright, lead the way."

"So," Daniel leaned against the couch. "How're the new shoes holding up for ya?"

"They're pretty good." Chris smiled, looking up at Daniel. "Kinda miss my old shoes though."

Daniel scoffed. "C'mon, dude. You looked like a dork walking around with your old shoes. These are _so_ much better.

It was Tuesday, the worst day of the week. In Chris' mind, at least. Mondays were bad, but they always stay the same. Wednesdays are the halfway mark of the week, and Thursdays are almost Fridays. Tuesdays, Tuesdays are indescribable. Unpredictable. He sighed. "How's your wrist feeling, by the way?"

"Not too bad, if I do say so myself." Daniel made a show of flexing his arm, sending Chris into a fit. "Knowing my luck, I'll probably break it again walking up the stairs or something."

"Danny..."

"Yeah, yeah, 'positive thinking' 'n' all that bullshit," he scoffed, turning away. "God, you sound exactly like my physical therapist."

"It's true, Danny."

"Whatever," he sighed. "So, what were your plans for today?"

"...School? Aren't you going too?"

"Well, that's the thing..."

"Danny, what are you planning...?

"I was thinking of driving to the next couple of towns over instead, and I was wondering if you'd like to come along with me?"

Chris went rigid. "Danny... that's a _horrible_ idea."

"What do you mean?"

"Dude," he began, looking back down to his shoes, fiddling with the laces. "We'd get in _so much_ trouble if we skip for no reason. We should just head to school."

"Come on, Chris. We've both been working so hard for _months_ now. Especially you; all that shit for your art class and how you've been carrying our asses in science." Daniel paced around the living room, Chris' eyes following him. "You've helped dad all around the house with chores, you've been making sure Sean 'n' Finn don't get themselves killed when they're three sheets to the wind, and you took care of me when my wrist was all busted." He squatted down, eye-to-eye with Chris. "Don't you think you deserve a break for all that?"

Chris sat with his face twisting, deep in thought. Finally, he sighed, a deep and heavy sound. "Alright, you win." He looked to Daniel, who grinned as he sprung up to his feet "Where'd you have planned?"

"I'm so glad you asked." Daniel sang, pulling him up from the floor.

Daniel pulled into an open parking space, the engine dying with a pitiful sputter. It was an eventful day; from the local supermarket with shopping cart races to the bookstore with Chris having to spend ten minutes talking Daniel from buying a sixty dollar replica of the mask from _V for Vendetta,_ the boys had managed to waste a good three hours messing around town.

Walking through the park, the two made conversation. "So, you said you've been here before?"

"Yeah," Daniel sighed, stretching his arm over the top of his head. "Dad took me 'n' Sean camping here maybe... seven years ago? It was cool, he taught me all about the trail blazes, how to skip rocks 'n' shit." He paused, turning to Chris. "You ever been here before?"

"Nope, first time." But something, _something_ in the back of Chris' mind told him that this place felt... _familiar._ And yet he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Hey," Daniel interrupted, "maybe I could teach you how to skip rocks if you want? It's pretty fun once you get the hang of it."

"Sure." The two made it to the riverbed shortly after, their shoes squeaking against the wet dirt. "How do I begin?"

"Well, first," Daniel began, bending over. "You need to grab a rock. Make sure it's flat, or else it won't work." He handed him one of the two rocks he was holding. Chris ran his fingers over it, listening to Daniel continue with his lesson. "You wanna make sure you're holding it with your thumb and index finger, like this." He shuffled over to Chris, fixing his hold on the rock.

"And? What else?"

"All you gotta do is spin your wrist when you throw it, and...," Daniel went silent, watching his stone skip across the water three times before sinking into the water below. He smirked. "Yes! I've still got it. Alright, now you try."

Chris tossed the stone, watching with disappointment as it sunk almost instantly into the water below. "Shoot."

"No worries, dude. You're still learnin'." He bent down, handing another rock to Chris. "Try again."

Another try, another stone meeting its cruel fate in the murky waters below. "Danny, can we just--"

"Now hold on," he placed another rock into his hand, closing Chris' hand around it "Third time's the charm, right?"

"But I--"

"Chris," Daniel squeezed his hand. "Try again. For me, please?"

He sighed, looking down at Daniel's hand around his own before looking back up at him. "Alright, whatever you say." Chris stepped forward, raising the rock to his lips for a moment. He assumed the position, ignoring Daniel's small snickers.

"Dude, are you praying to it?" With as much grace as he could muster, Chris flung the rock towards the water, cringing as he watched it bounce once before falling in. "Yes! Dude, you've got it!"

He groaned. "Danny, it skipped _one_ time."

"That's still good! You got it in three tries, that's better than nothing! When dad 'n' Sean tried to teach me, it took them ten minutes to even show me the proper rocks to use." He smiled, squeezing Chris' shoulder. "You'll get better with practice, dude. Now come on, let's go sit down. I think I saw a couple of picnic tables up the hill over there."

Daniel settled into his seat first, talking about all the other things he could remember doing with his family his trip prior. "You listening to me, Chris?"

"Yeah, I am, just--" he stopped, his eyes scanning the top of the table. Besides the corny messages and expletives that lined the tabletop, there was another thing. The thing that had been in the back of Chris' mind since they arrived. _Charles Emily Chris 2014._ It all came rushing back to him. His parents chasing him around the woods. The sound of his father's voice. The sound of his laugh. Chris felt a knot in his stomach. A lump in his throat. He felt like he was about to throw up.

"What ya' lookin' at there?"

He looked up, taking a quick, labored breath. Thankfully, Chris thought to himself, Daniel had not noticed. "N-nothing," Chris smiled quickly, shooting his hand over the carvings. "I, uh-- can we, like, get out of here?"

"What, you feeling hungry or somethin'?"

"Y-yeah, that's it. Hungry."

"Well, alright." Daniel rose from his seat, stretching. "I know of this great place in the next town, we can grab a bite to eat there." Chris had never left anywhere else faster.

Their day ended in a local burger restaurant, the smell of grease filling the entire establishment like a thick, heavy fog.

"What a day, huh?"

Chris looked up from the fry that he had been nursing on for the past five minutes. "Huh?"

"I said 'what a day, huh?'" 

"Oh... yeah."

Daniel's smile fell, he placed his cup down onto the table. "You doin' alright, Chris?"

His eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

"It's just that you've seemed so down ever since we got to the park."

_"He noticed."_ Chris felt like he was about to be sick. "It's nothing, Danny."

"If you're upset about something, I'd want to know." Daniel placed his hand over Chris' "You know you can tell me anything."

Chris wanted to believe that. He wanted to believe that _so fucking much._ "I, uh, I need to go use the bathroom really quickly. I'll... I'll be right back."

Daniel watched as the boy across from him slowly rose out of his chair, skittering over the bathroom in the back. Looking back at their table for a moment, Chris entered the bathroom with great haste.

He sat back in his chair, checking his texts, Twitter, Instagram, whatever to pass the time as he waited for Chris to return. A minute went by. Followed by five minutes. Then ten. Just as it was about to reach fifteen minutes of him sitting alone, he stood from his chair. _"What the fuck is taking him so long in there?"_ he grumbled to himself, walking across the room to the bathroom. He groaned, trying his best to ignore the way the bottoms of his shoes squelched across the sticky floors.

Daniel knocked lightly as he reached the door. "You good in there, Chris?"

He took a quick, labored breath in. "Y-Yeah!" Just-- just give me a minute, alright?"

"Are you...?" Daniel frowned. "Hold on, let me come in there for a second."

"No, Danny, you don't have to--" he found himself cut off by the sound of the creaking door. Chris made a quick attempt in turning away as Daniel entered the cramped washroom.

"Chris, seriously, what's wro--" Daniel looked at the boy in front of him, wet tear tracks running down his cheeks. Chris stared back, his ragged, uneven breaths and quivering lip bringing pangs of sadness that sent shivers up Daniel's back. "Chris...?"

"Danny, I can explain, I--"

"Well, I would certainly hope so." He instantly regretted raising his tone, the way the words slipped from his lips as he watched Chris cringe.

"I just... this all feels so _wrong."_

"For fuck's sake, Chris, if this is about us skipping school--"

"It's not," he groaned, leaning against the sink behind him. "It's just... I was there before, at that stupid park. With my mom and my dad, and I saw something that we carved into that shitty little table, and it just... sent me back to everything." He took another quick breath in, raking his hands through his hair. "My dad, I know he... did a lot of terrible things to me, but _fuck_ I miss him so bad."

"Jesus, Chris..."

Chris shimmied, moving his hand to the heavy wooden door. "It's fine, Danny, just... leave me be for a minute, and I'll--" He felt Daniel's mass and body heat envelop him, his long arms wrapping around him.

"Chris."

He looked away, his gaze flickering around to anything he could find in the room. The trashcan, full of paper towels and soda cups. The door and its 'all employees must wash their hands before returning to work' sign. The walls, with their skeezy jerk off bait pin-up photos and corny comics cut out from the newspaper.

"Chris, I'm serious."

"Danny, seriously. I'm fine, just let me--"

"Christopher. Look at me."

And Chris looked. Chris looked at Daniel, looking at the lines of worry in his face. At the corners of his mouth, tugging into a deep frown. Into his eyes, filled with a deep, resonating sense of care and understanding. Filled with love.

"You've gone through _a lot_ of shit, Chris. Your dad, you _couldn't_ have stayed with him, no matter what. He wasn't good for you, that environment wasn't good for you."

"But... _fuck,_ Daniel. I do everything around the house; the cooking, the cleaning, what is he gonna do without me?"

"He has my grandparents, remember? If he needed anything, I'm sure he'd reach out to them." 

"But what about--"

"Chris. Listen to me, you don't need to worry about any of that shit anymore, alright? You're here with me, and my dad, Sean, and Finn." He smiled, squeezing his shoulders softly. "We're your family now. That's all you need." He leaned in, placing a kiss on his forehead. "Ya feel me?"

"Yeah," he sniffled, smiling softly as he placed his forehead to Daniel's. "I... I feel you."

"Now," Daniel chuckled, patting Chris' cheek gently, "can we get back to our food? I'd like to finish it before it gets cold, y'know."

"Yeah," Chris sighed, pushing the door open. "I'd like that too."

The two made their way out of the bathroom and towards their table when Daniel felt his phone buzzing in his pocket. "You head back to the table, I should probably take this. It's probably Grace, trying to fill me in on whatever fight happened while we were gone." He watched with a smile as Chris walked back to their table, scooting back into the place across from him. He tapped the 'Accept' button, placing the phone to his ear. "What's up?"

"Daniel," Esteban began, the annoyance clear in his voice. "The school just called me about an unexcused absence. For you _and_ Chris. Would you care to explain that at all?"

"Hah! Got you!

"Nuh-uh!"

Daniel sighed, watching the children run around the neighborhood, squealing in childish delight.

Thankfully, Esteban was only _very_ disappointed and _a little_ upset with the two. He expressed his anger; asking how Daniel could even think of skipping school for no good reason when he was on such a good track already. He expressed his disappointment; asking Chris how he could be dragged into this, how he's better than that. And so, Esteban decided a punishment for them; confinement to their room after school, no leaving for any reason.

"Dude, this sucks so bad."

"What?" Daniel laughed, lying down next to Chris. "Never been grounded before, goody-two-shoes?"

"You mean to tell me your dad _actually_ wants us to just... stay in here? For the _whole_ day?"

"Yep," Daniel said curtly, stretching his limbs out, "my old man's pretty adamant when it comes to ways of punishing me 'n' Sean for our lil' mistakes. You should be lucky, that means you're _really_ part of the family now if he's dishing the same shit out to you." He turned to Chris, grinning. "Just be lucky he didn't ship you off to some tiny town with nothing else to do like he did with me."

Chris chuckled. "That doesn't sound _too_ bad. Who knows, maybe I could've met a cute boy somewhere in the neighborhood."

"Fuck you, dude. That's low." Daniel's face, filled with feigned shock threw Chris into a fit of laughter.

Composing himself, Chris sighed. "So, was it all worth it?"

Daniel scooted over to Chris, spooning him. A wild grin spread across his face as he buried it in the back of Chris' neck. "With you? Abso- _fucking_ -lutely."

_Feeling out of body, what can I do?_

_It’s up to the top every day to join with you_

_I had to get away for a little while_

_But then it came back much harder_

_‘Til I ever hold you out there again, will you be mine?_

_‘Cause I’m on a ghost ship drowning my heart in Hong Kong_

_It’s the last ride boarding here tonight_

_Out in the bay (out in the bay)_

_I’ll need a lantern in you to shine out bright rays_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Figuring It Out](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_rGzP8DwEo&t) // SWMRS  
> [Ghost Ship](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tsv8tipQUs) // Blur  
> [Spotify Playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/57WdUoSVi9lxzOynxyEQ95?si=_UY21RjwR8aThw-6b2izOw)
> 
> Wow, this took a while to come out, didn’t it? I’d like to thank you all for being so patient over this period of time, I’ve really appreciated it. :))
> 
> The next update should come in the next couple of weeks. I’ve been trying to find time to continue writing, even with school currently going on. It shouldn’t take too long, so keep your eyes open!
> 
> I hope you’re all excited for the ride to come, because I sure am excited to give it to you. ;)


	2. winter.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Chris spends his first Christmas with the Diazes & Co. and turns seventeen.
> 
> Word Count: 10.6k

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Talk/spoilers for LiS2 Ep. 5: Wolves at the end of the story in author notes, make sure to catch up with the story before checking them out!!

With an exhale, the cloud of his breath disappearing just as instantly as it appeared, the wintery cold air nipping at his exposed skin, Chris watched as the snowflakes rained down in a flurry from the sky. It was a cold morning as Chris stood in front of the Diaz household, bringing a feeling of ease and tranquility that he had felt himself missing for a long while."Hey! Christopher!" Chris turned, watching as Daniel hopped off the stoop, running the short distance between the door, across the snow-covered grass to where he stood on the sidewalk.

"D-Dude! Chill, stop running before you slip and break something again!"

Bringing himself to a stop, Daniel skated ever so gently across the icy grass, balancing himself on Chris as he neared. "Damn," he began, bringing himself in close, "how lucky am I that you were here to break my fall?"

Chris giggled, leaning into Daniel's kiss. "You're such a dork."

"C'mon, let's get going. I want to get this day over with."

Piling into the car, Chris shivered. "Can you turn the heat on?"

"Yeah, yeah, just need to--" Daniel cut himself off, turning the car key, listening to the truck try and fail to come to life. He cursed to himself, "C'mon, you sonofabitch, get started." Turning the key again, he listened to the engine sputter. "Fucking piece of junk, get a mo--" He let out a cry of victory hearing the engine spring to life, feeling the burst of hot air rushing from the vents. "Shit, you feel that? Fuckin' amazing, I'm tellin' you."

Chris inhaled deeply, scrunching his face. "It smells like something's burning."

"Well, Finn said that there were still some issues with it that he needs to fix. Nothin' to worry about now, right?"

Chris sighed, settling into the ripped up seat below him. "I mean, I guess."

Chris stared out to the road absent-mindedly for a moment, watching as Daniel winded down the road haphazardly, without a care in the world before realizing something was _off._ "Wait, this isn't the road to school. Where are we going?" He looked nervously from the road to Daniel, wincing as he felt the realization of pain from his nails bending ever so slightly forward as he gripped onto his pant leg. "You're not gonna make us skip school again, are you?"

"Nah," Daniel chuckled, patting Chris' leg. "Just picking Grace up, that's all."

Chris cocked his brow. "What? I thought she rode the school bus."

"Yeah, but you don't even want to know how badly she was blowing my phone up last night about it. She was complaining about twelve-year-olds screaming bloody murder at eight in the morning or something like that. She asked me if we could pick her up for today, 'n' maybe a couple of days after we get back from break. Nothin' wrong with that, right?"

The truck made its way down the road, emitting the occasional sputter, Daniel curtly emitting the occasional curse under his breath in response. Rounding the final corner, Chris could tell that Grace was _miffed._

"Hey, you!" Daniel lowered his voice, gravelly and deep. "Get the fuck in here."

"Dude, stop. You know how much I hate it when you do that, it's fucking weird." Climbing into the truck, she sighed, slamming the door behind her. "Y'all definitely took your sweet time getting here, nearly froze to death out there waiting for you." Chris turned his head, feeling her hand resting on his shoulder. "Shit, it get this cold back where you live?"

"Uh, about the same."

"Well, that's great for you, then. If it's so much like yer little town here in Seattle, then you must not get homesick that much."

He stared down, picking at a stray thread from his jacket. "Mmhmm." Chris felt a slight wave of uncomfortableness wash over him. Despite hanging around her for the past four months, he still had no idea how to approach a conversation with Grace. There was an air of _something_ surrounding her, something that made Chris feel almost intimidated by her.

The rest of the ride permeated that same uneasy feeling. Grace made small talk with Chris, asking him all about his life back in Beaver Creek. She was curious about small-town life; what did Chris do for fun _before_ meeting Daniel? What was there to do in town? How many kids Chris' age were there in town? Rounding the corner onto the road that led to the school, Grace daintily placed her hand, this time on Daniel's shoulder. "So, Daniel. What're you planning on doing for winter break?"

"Why're you asking?"

"Dunno, just thought that since the break is comin' up, it'd be nice to hear your plans."

"Well," Daniel began, fiddling with the rearview mirror, placing Grace into his view. "I was probably gonna stick around with dad 'n' Sean for the holidays, just like every year."

Chris frowned, watching Daniel place his whole focus on Grace, her touch still lingering on his shoulder. "Uh, Danny... you just drove past the entrance to the parking lot."

His eyes widened. "Did I? Sorry, lemme just--" Daniel found himself cut off as the whole car shook, sending all three of them jumping from their seats as the car, feeling the after-effects of the potholes that lined the school road. "God fucking dammit, would it _kill_ them to fill those fuckers?" He sighed, cursing to himself again as he found the rearview mirror knocked out of place. "Perfect. Just fuckin' perfect."

"Dude, focus on the road. Let me get the mirror, alright?" Taking Daniel's deep sigh as a yes, Chris raised his arm, fiddling with the mirror. Taking a look at the seats behind him, Chris frowned. As Daniel drove along the road a second time, swearing at every student jaywalking in front of their car, giving them dirty stares, he noted that Grace's eyes were elsewhere. She watched Daniel, a look in her eyes that made him feel strange. There was _something_ there, and he couldn't place his finger on it.

"Alright, class... class? Listen in. I've got a few things to say before time runs out."

The chattering died out into hushed whispers, thirty pairs of eyes staring up at the front of the room to where Zidek stood.

"Alright, look. I know that it's cold as hell outside, and I know that you're all feeling anxious, I get it. You want to get to your fifth-hour class so this whole day can be over, and so you can stay at home and spend time with your family."

Daniel leaned in, whispering to Chris. "Who said we're not just gonna smoke up alone?" Wincing at Chris' elbow in his side, he tuned back into Zidek's monologue.

"I wanted to take the time to tell you all how much this year has meant to me. Getting to know all of you, know your likes, your dislikes, all of it. It's all meant so much to me, and I'd like to thank you all for it. I'm looking forward to what the rest of the school year will bring when you all come back next year."

The sound of the student body's collective groans at Zidek's corny joke was drowned out by the shrill screaming of the bell, signaling the class to their fifth and final hour of the day. "Alright, you're all dismissed. Except _you,_ Mr. Diaz."

"Hmm?" Daniel stood rigid near the door, Chris and Grace close behind him as the rest of the class passed by, snickering and warning him of punishments to come. "What'd I do?"

"Nothing, I just want to talk with you for a moment."

Daniel stared back to the two behind him, voicing his shared confusion in a look that said more than words ever could. "Alright, you guys can just wait for me outside, I'll be out soon." Watching the two make their way out of the classroom, Daniel sniffed. "So," he began, plopping himself onto a desk in Zidek's view, "what's up?"

"Daniel, please don't sit on my desks like that."

"But--" Daniel opened his mouth to refute his teacher before cutting himself, huffing as he rose to his feet. He crossed his arms, staring eye-to-eye with his teacher. "What'd you wanna talk about?"

"I just wanted to know how your arm is going."

"Uh... fine, I guess?" Gripping said arm tightly, Daniel shifted nervously. "You’ve seen that it’s been out of the cast for weeks now. What're you trying to do, Mr. Zidek?"

"I just... I'm a little worried for you, to be honest."

"Whaddya mean?"

"I'm saying that I'd rather not see you come back to my class after the break wearing _another_ cast."

Daniel scoffed. "C'mon, Mr. Zidek. You must have _no_ faith in me, huh?"

"Daniel," Zidek began, stonefaced. "You almost burned yourself working with the burners just yesterday."

"Alright, alright, I get it. I'll try to be more careful over the break, alright?" 

"That's all I'm asking for, Mr. Diaz. Even if you're not my child, I still care a lot for you."

Daniel chuckled, turning to the door. "Yeah, alright. Bye, Mr. Zidek, have fun doing _whatever_ teachers do during the break."

"Goodbye, Daniel." Watching him bolt from the room, already deep in conversation with the two waiting for him on the outside, Zidek couldn't help but let out a smile, chuckling to himself. "That fuckin' kid..."

"You sure it's alright that we didn't drop you off at home?" Daniel leaned against the truck bed, staring at Grace. "Isn't your mom gonna be, like, _super_ pissed if you're late comin' home?"

"Nah, she overreacts to _everything._ You could've saved my life by bringin' me home 'n' that broad would get pissed at ya for fucking up her driveway with your tire tracks." She embraced Daniel, lingering for a moment before exiting with a sigh. "I'll walk home from here. You don't have to worry about me until break is over."

"Yeah," Daniel breathed. "Lucky me."

She snorted. "Whatever, fuck you." Giving Daniel full view of a particularly unsavory hand gesture, Grace made her way up the driveway. "Tell your old man I said hi, by the way."

"Will do!" He sighed, making his way to Chris, nose in his phone, tapping away at the screen in the middle of the driveway. "So, what d'ya say? You wanna head inside, or are you more towards standin' around 'n' freezin' our balls off?"

"I was waiting for you, dude."

"Well, shit. Let's get goin' then."

Daniel's looked on with wonder, watching Chris seize up at the door, his hand on the handle. "Dude, what're you waiting for?"

"...Sean and Finn are supposed to be back for break, right?"

"Yeah?" Daniel crept up slowly beside Daniel, looking to him. "Why, what's going on?"

"Nothing," Chris explained, placing his ear to the door. "It's just that I think I hear--"

The two jumped as the door swung open, the familiar, pungent smell of pot radiating from the man as he dragged them inside. "I think I hear a couple of lil' pipsqueaks that just came home!"

"Pipsqueak?" Hannah scoffed, stretching as she rose to her feet. "Dude, they're both taller than you, especially Daniel." Slowly, but surely, Chris made the connections in his mind of who exactly the group that was standing in their living room was. For Daniel, the realization came much quicker.

"What the fuck are y'all doin' here?"

"Damn," Finn sucked in, clicking his tongue. "That's cold-hearted, lil' man. You ain't excited to see us?"

"Of course I'm excited to see you, dumbass," Daniel smirked, throwing his arms around Finn, "just-- Jesus, why are you all here?"

"The world doesn't revolve around you, lil' man. We all got winter break too."

Chris jumped, gliding along the floor as a rough, callous hand wrapped around his shoulders. "Since Daniel's busy catchin' up with the rest of the crew, why don't you come help me, Cass, 'n' the Swedes in the kitchen?"

"I-- um, sure." Looking around, Chris watched as Daniel sat in the living room, conversing with Finn and the rest of the crew. "Where's Esteban?"

"Stepped out a lil' bit after we got here." Hannah nodded to Cassidy, taking a tray lined with tree-shaped dough from her hands. "So, how was your day?"

"Oh, it was... it was fine, I guess."

"You guess?" Hannah clicked her tongue, looking over her shoulder from the oven to Chris. "What do you mean 'you guess?'"

"C'mon, babe. Leave the poor boy alone. He probably has to deal with more than enough shit like that sitting here at home with Daniel."

"Yeah, whatever." Hannah chuckled, before looking over to the couple laughing and chatting away at the sink. "Hey! You two, are you actually gonna help us, or are you just gonna fuck around?"

Chris had never had a more chaotic winter break. For the two weeks that made up his time at home with the Diaz family & Co., he had spent more time with them than he had ever imagined.

He remembered the aftermath of baking Christmas cookies with Hannah, Cassidy, and the Swedes, watching with pride as the rest of the crew sang out praises of the quality of his craft.

He remembered snowball fights breaking out between Sean and Daniel. Of Daniel's short-lived victory, celebrating as he watched his older brother get decked in the face. Of his squeals heard throughout the neighborhood as Finn yanked the back of his jacket and shirt, shoveling handful-after-handful of snow down.

He remembered decorating the house outside for the Christmas season, watching with wonder as he and Daniel held the ladder steady for Esteban, listening to the ruckus of Sean and Finn arguing over where on the Christmas tree to put what ornament.

He remembered building snowmen and making snow angels, rolling around in the snow with Daniel, laughing, not a care in the world.

He remembered the tales of the crew's last-minute Christmas shopping. Of Finn telling the boys all about Hannah's near scuffle with another shopper. Of Cassidy having to drag her away from the fight-to-be by the collar of her shirt.

Chris woke to the sound of his growling stomach. Reaching for his phone, he looked to the time. _"Jesus, almost twelve in the morning?"_ He tried his best to fall back asleep, settling into bed with Daniel's arms around him. And he tried everything, absolutely _everything._ Watching sheep jumping over fences and counting backward in his head, deep-breathing methods he learned online after years of sleepless nights from his father's-- _"Don't. Stop thinking about that."_

No matter what he tried, Chris could not fall asleep. Sighing heavily, he made his way out of Daniel's arms, smiling to himself as the boy whined in his sudden absence. _"Cute!"_ Feeling a pair of beady eyes lasering in on him, he turned to the foot of the mattress. "It's nothin', Shroom. Go back to bed." Watching Mushroom settle back into sleep, he made his way out.

He opened the door slowly, cringing as it creaked to life on its old hinges. _"Daniel's been complaining for weeks about that... I guess Esteban hasn't gotten around to it."_ It was quiet. Exiting from the room, Chris made his way into the kitchen, making a beeline directly to the cupboards, hoping to find _something_ to quell his late-night hunger.

"Hey, what're you doin' up so late?"

Chris nearly jumped from his skin. Turning around swiftly, he sighed a breath of relief, seeing Cassidy sitting alone in the dining room. Giving her the once-over, Chris clasped his hands together, trying his best to look like she hadn't just startled him. "I, uh, could ask _you_ the same thing."

"Tch," Cassidy clicked her tongue, looking into the can of beer in her hand, "dunno, didn't feel like goin' out to drink with everybody else, I guess." She turned, placing the can down onto the table. "For real, though. Whatcha doin' up so late? Y'got the day-before-Christmas mornin' jitters too?"

_"Shit, is it really--?"_ Chris reached for his pocket, cursing to himself. _"Shit, of course I left it in the room with Daniel."_ He rubbed his hands together, laughing awkwardly. "I was just gonna get something to eat, I was feeling hungry."

"Alright, I won't stop ya'." Chris sighed, moving back into the kitchen. He hummed quietly to himself, pouring the contents from a bag of Chock-O-Crisp brand cereal into his bowl, before pouring a healthy coating of milk. Making his way back to his room, he jumped again, hearing his name called again.

"Are you _really_ about to eat a bowl of cereal in yer room?" She looked him up and down before patting to the spot opposite to her on the table. "C'mon, sit down. I don't bite. Mostly, at least." Slowly, Chris settled down into the chair, avoiding her gaze.

"Yeah, sorry--"

"Hey, don't be sorry. You have nothing to apologize for." Making a sound of realization, she picked her can back up before holding it up to Chris. "Shit, where are my manners, y'want a sip?"

"Oh, I-- no, sorry, I can't, I--"

"Hmm, whatever. It's fine, Daniel told me y'were a bit of a goody-two-shoes anyways." Chris shifted in his seat, feeling his face burn bright red watching her delight in how uncomfortable the exchange was. After taking a long sip, she placed the can down. Stretching out against the back of the dining chair, she groaned heavily. "Damn, I tell ya'. All this Christmas shit's got me beat."

"Yeah," Chris said, scooping another spoonful of cereal into his mouth. Swallowing roughly, Chris stared down into his bowl. "Having to hold the ladder for Esteban was stressful, I kept trying not to fall and bust my ass on the sidewalk out there." He sighed, stirring the milk with his spoon. "It's weird, doing all that decorating stuff. I can't remember the last time my dad and I did anything like that."

"Shit, yeah," Cassidy hummed, taking another sip. "Y'know, Chris..." she began, placing her can down on the table. "You don't have to feel bad about bein' away from yer dad."

"...What?"

"I know that it's rough, dude. Shit, me 'n' my daddy didn't leave out on the best of terms, either." She reached for her can, before looking back up at Chris. "I ever tell you about what happened there?"

Chris shook his head. "No, ma'am."

"'Ma'am?' Damn, you're more of a goody-two-shoes than Daniel led on." Cassidy chuckled, rolling her neck. "Shit, it was... almost a decade ago, I think, 'n' I was dating this one boy." She grinned. "He was really sweet. But my parents, they didn't like 'im 'cause he wasn't white."

"Shit... Cassidy..."

"Yeah, right. One night, my father just beat the fuckin' shit out of him. Chased him off, 'n' after that, my brother got on my ass, threatened to shoot me if I continued to date him. 'Lucy, if you don't stop fuckin' 'round wit' that boy, you ain't welcome back home.' Well, that wasn't his _exact_ choice a words, if you know what I mean, but same idea." Cassidy sucked on her teeth, blinking away tears. "What I'm tryin' to get at is that you don't have to feel alone about this shit."

"...Really?"

"Hell yeah," Cassidy chuckled. "Everyone here's got problems wit' their kin. Hans left her mom 'cause of her issues, Jacob hasn't talked to no one accept his sister after he got outed 'n' disowned, 'n' Finn... that's a whole other story."

"I-- you sure it's, y'know, okay to be telling me all this?" He looked to the corner of his eye, staring at the front door. Part of him expected the pair to come barreling in any second now, descending upon Cassidy for sharing such personal, intimate stories.

"Nah, it's all fine, dude. We're all a family, 'n' in this family, we ain't got any secrets."

"Shit, I've been talkin' for a while, haven't I?" She chuckled again, picking her can back up.

"Just... don't beat yerself up over it, y'know what I'm tryin' to say?"

"Yeah," Chris said, smiling into his bowl. "I do. Thanks, Cassidy. It means a lot."

Slipping back under the covers, he listened to Daniel stir in his sleep. "Huhh? Wuss goin' on?"

Chris closed the gap, facing face-to-face, chest-to-chest to Daniel. He smiled to himself, listening again to his whining. Feeling Daniel's arms wrap around him, he settled in, closing his eyes. "Nothing, just go back to sleep."

Waking yet again, Chris reached out for Daniel, grasping at the space left behind in his absence. He groaned, sitting up to get a better view of the digital clock. Seven in the morning. _"Is it really that early?"_ He sighed, lifting himself from the bed before making his way out of the bedroom, scratching at his belly.

He looked to the closed door across the hall. Inching forward, he placed his ear to the surface, listening for any sound. 

_Silence._

He realized it was a quiet morning in general, no sound emanating from the house aside from the light patter of snowfall against the window, the sound of breakfast, and the creaking of the bathroom door opening behind him.

"Hey," Daniel embraced him from behind, placing a kiss on the back of his neck.

He turned, his hands on Daniel's chest. "Y'know," he began, scrunching his face, "you can at least try to brush your teeth in the morning before doing anything like that."

"What?"

"Nothing." Chris grinned, kissing the tip of his nose.

"Hey," the two turned, staring at Hannah as she watched their exchange. "What're you two lil' lovebirds doin' over here?"

"Jesus, Hans, you scared the shit out of me." Stepping away from Chris, he entered the kitchen, leaning against the counter. "What're you doin' up so early? Everybody else is still asleep." 

"Eh, I couldn't fall back asleep, I guess." She turned, returning to the stove. "Your dad is up, he just stepped into his room to get his phone. You two can help, since you're already up and not doing much of anything."

"What're you cookin' anyway? Bacon?"

"Nah, sausage. Here," she said, handing two slices of bread to Daniel. "Pop these in the toaster real quick, 'n' put some butter on them when they're done."

It was a nice moment, cooking alongside Daniel, Hannah, and Esteban. "Y'know," Esteban chuckled, placing the plates down onto the counter next to the stove, patting Hannah on the shoulder before turning back to Chris. "I don't know why I was so worried-- I spent so many years worried about being in this house all alone after Daniel graduates. But now, with you & Sean and his friends, I guess I don't have to worry about that, huh?"

"So..." Chris began, his back leaning against the back of the couch. "You said you guys watch that _every_ year?"

"I mean, it ain't any different from when we'd watch movies back in Beaver Creek, dude."

"But that's because we'd only watch like, one movie. You seriously watch three? Back-to-back?"

"Yeah, it's a family tradition! You not a fan of Lord of the Rings?"

"No, it's not that. I just never really cared much to get into it."

"Dude, you _seriously_ do not know what you're missing. It's--"

"Jesus, lil' man, don't get started again on that." Leaning over, Finn nudged Chris. "He's been tryin' to get me on that train for _years,_ no matter how many times I tell him that I haven't gotten around to reading the books yet."

"Sean, Daniel," Esteban stood between the kitchen and living room. In his hand, he held a single red envelope. "Come here, you've got letters."

"Shit," Daniel sprung from the couch, nearly diving across the counter as he took the letter inscribed _'Daniel'_ from his father's hand, "from who?"

"Grandma 'n' grandpa, from the look of it."

Daniel muttered to himself, trying his best not to rip the envelope to shreds as he opened it. "C'mon twenty dollars, c'mon twenty dollars... fuck yeah!"

"Daniel, language." Esteban sighed, watching as his youngest child waved the twenty-dollar bill around in the air, gloating in his older brother's face. "Did you even read the note they wrote to you?"

"They wrote a note?" Ignoring his family's exasperated sighs, Daniel picked the card back up from the counter, murmuring to himself. "Hi... merry Christmas... missing you... hope to see you again soon-- ooh! Chris," Daniel held the card open, pointing it to the living room. "They said to tell you they said hi!"

Daniel watched as Chris giggled, that goofy, toothy grin on his face as he listened to one of Finn's stories.

"Rough crowd, eh?"

"Huh?" Daniel turned back to his father, his brow upturned. "Oh, sorry. I just thought he'd appreciate knowing they're thinking of him." Watching Sean leave the living room, plopping down next to Finn, Daniel pursed his lips. "Did... did he get anything?"

"Who?" Esteban had already made his way across the kitchen, gathering an assortment of pots and pans, getting ready to serve dinner for the night. "Get what?"

"Y'know... Chris," Daniel looked nervously to the living room, making sure that they, no, that _Chris_ were still enamored in Finn's bad trip story. "Did he get anything... from back home?"

"No," Esteban began. "We never got anything from his father, if that's what you're asking. Why do you ask?"

"It's nothing... just forget I asked."

With that, Daniel turned, leaving his father, walking back into the living room. "I-- uh, okay."

_Have yourself a merry little Christmas_

_Let your heart be light_

_Next year all our troubles will be out of sight_

_Have yourself a merry little Christmas_

_Make the Yuletide gay_

_Next year all our troubles will be miles away_

_Once again as in olden days_

_Happy golden days of yore_

_Faithful friends who are dear to us_

_Will be near to us, once more_

_Someday soon we all will be together_

_If the fates allow_

_Until then we'll have to muddle through somehow_

_So have yourself a merry little Christmas now_

Chris had to admit it; Finn had an _excellent_ taste in literature. Sure, most of it was stuff you would find in your typical young adult coming of age piece, but the story-- the story! That's what kept him engaged. It was about a pair of siblings, on the run from the police after a family tragedy, and-- 

The door creaked open. "Fuckin' hinges... g'nite, everyone! With the sound of the crew yelling back and Daniel's footsteps pattering against the floor, Chris' head snapped up from the book. "Hey, Danny." The boy returned the gesture, waving to him as he made his way over to the dresser.

Daniel stared at him. "What? You planning on tuckin' in already?"

"No, I just thought it'd be more productive to get in my pajamas now rather than later. Why, what're you--" He squeaked, averting his gaze as he watched Daniel's shorts drop down to the floor. 

"Sorry, were you saying somethin'?"

"I was-- um, I, uh, I was gonna ask you what you were thinking since you asked me, but I--" Raising his head slowly, he let out another squeak, watching Daniel's nightshirt join the small pile forming on the bedroom floor.

"Y'know you can look at me when I'm getting dressed, right?"

Chris swallowed dryly. "Y-yeah, it's just that--"

"What?" Daniel smirked, crossing his arms. "You tryin' to avoid any... _situations_ or somethin'?"

"What?! No, why would I even--" If Chris could catch fire, he would've right then and there.

"W-wait. You never told me what _you_ were planning."

"Shit, I didn't?" 

"No, you didn't."

"Well, I was thinkin' -- and hear me out, now -- that we go see a movie or somethin' when everyone's down for the night."

"What do you mean?" Chris set his book down next to him. "Didn't you just spend, like, three hours watchin' movies? It's, like, a family tradition for you guys, right?"

"Yeah," Daniel began, rubbing the back of his neck, "but this year, I wanna try somethin' different, y'know?" He sighed, sitting down next to him. "C'mon, we can make it our lil' pre-Christmas treat."

"Well... I guess seeing _one_ movie wouldn't hurt..."

"Yes! You'll see -- there's this one movie that I've been itchin' to see for _weeks_ now."

"Alright, alright," Chris smiled. "And... Danny?"

"Yeah?"

"Will you _please_ put some clothes on now?"

"Are you _sure_ that everybody's asleep?" The cold, winter air felt like little knives to Chris' face. He hurried to the truck quickly, waiting for Daniel to unlock it.

"Yeah, man." With a lively _chirp,_ the car unlocked, and the boys climbed in. "What're they gonna care anyways if they know we're missing? They've been out drinking every other day for the past week now."

"That's because they're adults, Danny."

"Whatever, same difference. And we're just going out to see a movie, nothin' wrong with that, right?" Turning the key, the car sprung to life, moving down the driveway and onto the road in front of them.

"I guess."

As the truck made its way down the road, Chris noticed that... something was _missing._

"Hey, wait a minute."

Daniel's eyes darted quickly from the road to Chris. "Hmm?"

"Weren't you gonna pick up Grace? I know how movies are like, 'her thing', so I was thinking--"

"Oh, nah. This was just gonna be somethin' between us.

"...Really?"

"Yeah! Y'know, I love Grace 'n' all, she's a blast to have around. But since it's the holidays 'n' all that, I thought it would be nice if it were just _our_ thing tonight."

"Oh... alright."

"What?" Daniel chuckled, looking to Chris again. "You miss her already?"

"Maybe just a _little_ bit." Chris smiled to himself, looking out the window to the flurry of snowfall around him.

"Ooh, they're playin' Christmas music on the radio 'n' everything!"

"I mean, yeah, why wouldn't they?" Chris watched as Daniel fiddled with the radio of the old truck, cursing as he gave it a good _THWACK!_ to stop the earsplitting static that left the speakers, rather than the tunes of Christmas hullabaloo and the likes. He laughed, listening to Daniel's low, off-key voice, singing along to Frank Sinatra.

"Dude, what's so funny?"

"Nothin', it's just -- no offense, but you're singing voice is so funny."

Daniel scoffed. "What? This is what I get for bein' so nice to you?"

"Whatever, dude." Daniel grinned, watching the snowy road ahead of him, Chris' laughing filling his head. "You're just a hater."

The movie theatre was dark. _"Good."_ Daniel thought to himself. _"Don't want some adult to see us out this late and fuckin' snitch."_

"What movie are we seeing anyways?"

"This one movie, 'Dark Vengeance', I heard it fucking _rules,_ dude." Taking one look at the front desk, Daniel swore to himself.

"W-what? What's wrong?"

"Nothin', just someone I know is working the cashier today. Act natural, dude."

"Heeyyyy, Daniel!"

Daniel grimaced, listening to the voice of his acquaintance. "Hey, Ben. Workin' the Christmas shift, huh?" He was older, Chris thought to himself, at least in his early twenties.

_"Maybe a friend from parties?"_

The worker clicked his tongue. "Yeah, was trying to tell the boss how it ain't fair to everyone who has families, but she was goin' on about 'maybe some people who _don't_ have families want to see a movie,' whatever, I wanna stay at home 'n' spend time with my family than sitting in the dark here." Remembering his job, he turned the conversation back to Daniel. "Sorry, I forgot. Whatcha trying to see?"

"Two tickets to 'Double Vengeance', if you please."

"Alright, that'll be five dollars." He looked behind Daniel for a moment, staring Chris head-to-toe. "What, you takin' a break from the ladies or something?"

"Yeah," Daniel laughed, rifling through his wallet, "I guess you could say that."

"Boys night, huh? I like the sound of that." He flashed a smile, taking the money from Daniel's hand. "You gettin' any drinks? Popcorn?"

"Nah, we're good for now. Maybe on the way out, alright?"

"Alright then. You enjoy the movie, Daniel. You too, newbie."

They made their way down the hallway, down to the very end. "Five dollars? Seriously?"

"What? They have a discount on Tuesdays."

"Yeah, it's just--"

"Just what? You'd rather pay full price instead?"

"No, it's-- nevermind." Making their way through the heavy door and down the entrance, the boys turned the corner. "Shoot, is there usually this many people?"

"Like I said, discount on Tuesdays. Plus, they probably wanna escape all the drama tonight. C'mon, let's find a seat."

It was an... interesting movie, to say the least. Nothing really special, just your typical schlocky action movie about a big, buff dude getting revenge for wrongdoings committed against him. It was only ten minutes when he felt a finger tapping on his shoulder. "Hmm?"

"You bored?"

"What? No, it's not _that bad_ of a movie, I think the actor's pretty good for what it's worth."

"Well, I'm bored." Chris watched in horror as at that moment, Daniel stood up from his seat.

"Danny! Sit back down! You're blocking the screen!"

"Am not, I'm perfectly--"

"Hey! You down there, sit the fuck down, I'm trying to watch the goddamn movie!"

"Yeah! Sit down!"

Daniel twisted his body around, stretching his arms before snapping his head around, glaring at the duo. "If you don't shut the fuck up back there, I will spoil this whole fucking movie for everyone in here!" 

"C'mon," Daniel sighed, gently pulling Chris from his seat, excusing himself quietly with every viewer he passed by, "let's get outta here."

Chris' heart felt like it was beating a thousand beats per second. He followed closely behind Daniel, his mind racing. "We're just gonna leave? We didn't even watch anything..."

"Oh, don't worry. I'm getting my money's worth for movies tonight."

Daniel made his way to the door, stopping only for Chris' hand, wrapped around his wrist. "What're you planning, Danny?"

"Nothin'," Danny explained, squirming slightly in his boyfriend's vice grip. "I just thought we could... y'know, go see another movie."

"You sure? I thought you only bought enough money for one movie--"

"No, no," Daniel interrupted. He took Chris' face in his hands, patting his cheeks lightly. "We ain't paying for this."

Daniel pried the door open, Chris following behind. "What do you mean?" It didn't take Chris long to pick up what Daniel was throwing down. Watching him scale against the wall, he peeked into the hallway for a moment before scurrying across the hall to the other auditorium. "Wait, isn't this illegal?" he hissed, his eyes darting from Daniel to the hall, a small part in the back of his brain certain that as soon as Daniel pried open the next door, alarm would be blaring and armored soldiers would descend upon them like dogs on a steak for breaking the sanctity of movie theatre etiquette.

"It ain't illegal if no one catches you." With a wink, Daniel yanked the door open. C'mon, if you go quickly, they won't see you."

It took all the courage he could muster for Chris to not die on the spot, let alone even _think_ of making his way across the hallway to Daniel. And yet, he moved as swiftly as he could. He was almost there, even! Home free! Just as quickly as he darted across the hall darted a worker to the bathroom, the same one from the front desk, possibly? Chris froze completely.

"Jesus," Daniel hissed, "never know when to go all the way when it gets to the good part, huh?" Wrapping his hand around his arm, Daniel yanked him to the other side of the hallway, nearly toppling both of them over with the force used. "Alright, goody-two-shoes, that wasn't too bad, right?" He scoffed, wrapping his arm around the boy's shoulder. "Would've been better if you didn't decide to play possum back there, but--"

"Do... do you think he saw me?"

Daniel clicked his tongue. "Maybe, who knows. Probably too focused on trying to jerk off in the bathroom during his break to be lookin' for lil' rascals like us."

"Danny... ew." For real, though, what if he saw me? Do you think they're gonna drag us out or something?"

"We'll deal with that when we get there. Let's just enjoy the movie, alright?"

"There's not that many people here." That was a lie in itself. If there _were_ any people in the theatre that night, they sure were good at hiding.

"Good, more room for us." As the boys made their way to the seat, shrills screams filled the auditorium, sending both boys into a frenzy. It didn't take them long to realize why they were the only two there -- it was a horror movie on Christmas night.

"Jesus Christ...!" Watching as the monster ripped into the beefy football player, Chris latched onto Daniel. "Oh, shit. I'm sorry, I--"

"Nah, it's fine." Daniel smiled, his arm wrapping around Chris' shoulder once more. "I like it when you're close to me." He turned to Chris, watching as he practically buried his shoulder. "What, too scary for you?"

"No, it's fine, I'm just--" Chris yelped, blood splattering against the screen as the monster made another notch in its kill count -- this time, the stereotypical blonde. "I think I'll just... stay here for the rest of the movie."

Daniel chuckled. "That's fine with me, dude."

Daniel groaned, the light shining in his eyes waking him. "Fuck me," Daniel rolled to his side, rubbing the small of his back with his hand. "My fuckin' back..."

Chris snored lightly, his shoulder rising and falling with every breath. Scooting closer, he cuddled with the boy, smiling as he listened to his groans, slowly rousing from his deep sleep. "You awake yet?"

"Am now." He murmured, giving Daniel a quick peck on the lips before parting. "Fuck you, dude."

"What?"

"Fuck you, had nightmares all night because of that fucking movie you made us stick through last night." Turning himself around, Chris stared into Daniel's eyes. "Nearly scared your dad half to death when I went out for a glass of water at three in the morning."

"Shit, what time is it anyway?" His view of the clock obstructed by Chris, he reached for his phone instead.

_8:35 AM._

"Shit, they let us sleep in, huh?" He grinned, kissing Chris again.

"Dude," he whined, "y'know how much I hate your morning breath."

"Well," Daniel laughed, a volley of pecks raining down on Chris' face, "you'll have to deal."

"Was wonderin' when you two were gonna wake up." Sitting up in bed, Daniel looked to the door. Not that he'd see much of anything anyways, but he knew from the voice that it was Sean, his head halfway through the cracked door. "For how thin the walls are between your room and the bathroom, you two sure do talk real loud. You know that, right?"

"What're you even trying to say?"

"Nothin', but we're waiting on you guys out there, we're going to open presents."

Sean didn't have to tell them twice. As soon as the word 'presents' left his lips, the boys were up from their bed, barreling out of the room and into the living room where the crew hung out.

"Well, rise and shine mornin' glory."

"Mornin', Penny." Daniel plopped down on the couch, his feet landing in their usual spot on the coffee table. "Y'know where my old man's at?"

"Downstairs, I think. Gettin' your presents 'n' all that."

"FUCK, of course they were downstairs." Daniel fumed to himself, his arms crossed in frustration, "I never got the time to go down there 'n' check it out."

"Well, lil' man," Finn hummed, plopping down next to Sean, "that would've ruined all the fun for today, why would you wanna go 'n' do that?"

"Nice shirt, Finn. I like it better on Sean, though." He tried his best to stifle a snicker, looking Finn head-to-toe. "You sure that there wasn't anything that _actually_ fit you?"

"Eh, it's whatever. I like it, smells like him."

"Hey there, kiddos!" Esteban emerged from the basement, trying his best to keep the boxes in his arms from falling. "Sorry it took so long, I just had to do some last-minute re-wrapping, you know how it is." Flashing a smile, he threw one of the smaller gifts to his eldest. "Here ya go."

"Wait," Sean looked at the gift in his hands, "you _actually_ got me something? C'mon, dad. You didn't have to..."

"Of course I did! It's fine, mijo. You're still my child, no matter what, and that means," he huffed, placing the presents onto the coffee table, "that you get to enjoy the holidays as well."

"Shit, mine!" Without a second thought, Daniel snatched the biggest, heaviest box from his father's hands.

"Shit, not even gonna check the nametag? That's cold, lil' man."

"Dude, I can--" Daniel turned the box around, checking the tag to make sure the gift was, turning it back around to its original placement on the floor after seeing his name in big, bold Sharpie letters, "as I was saying, I can tell when something is for me. Dad loves me too much to not treat me, his _favorite_ child."

Rolling his eyes, Sean scoffed. "Whatever. You're spoiled, enano."

"And you're jealous."

"Enough talkin', you two. Sweetie, open yer present, I wanna see what ya got."

"Y'know what... they can open theirs first."

"Lettin' the tykes have all the fun? Alright then..."

Daniel snickered, already tearing into his gift. "Your loss, big bro." It took him a minute, surrounded by torn wrapping paper to realize exactly what was in front of him. "Is this really..,?" Daniel sat on his heels, turning the PlayBox+ container around a few times to make sure it was really there in front of him. "What the _fu--"_

"Daniel," Esteban scolded. "Language."

"How the hell did you guys even get this?" Daniel murmured to himself, lifting the box, holding it up to the ceiling lamp in another attempt to make sure it was real, that he wasn't getting punked, or that it was a figment of his imagination. "I thought they all sold out in like, an hour?!"

"Yeah, it did," Finn brought his knee close to his chest, "and it was expensive as hell."

Hannah leaned in, tousling the boy's head. "We all chipped in. I remembered that time you talked my ear off all night about how badly you missed your PlayBox when Sean brought you camping with us." She sighed. "Nearly got into a damn fistfight with some old lady over it, but it was worth it."

"Guys," Daniel whispered, his face burning. "Can you not mention that when... _he's_ around." His embarrassment didn't last long, after fuming over the continued laughter over his younger days, he rebounded. "Jesus, I just-- thank you so fucking much!"

"Daniel! One more time and I'll take it back just as quickly as you got it."

"C'mon, Mr. Diaz..." Jacob began, "Maybe you should just... I don't know since it's Christmas and all--"

"Hey, Chris."

"Huh?" He blinked once. Twice. He had lost himself listening to Daniel & Co. trade verbal blows with Esteban, forgetting where he was for a moment. "Oh, sorry. Did you want something?"

"Nothin', just thought that you should open up your gift next."

Chris took his time opening his gift, delicately peeling the wrapping paper apart piece-by-piece until finally, in his hands laid his gift; a sketchbook of his very own with a pack of pens.

Finn laughed, patting Sean on the shoulder. "Look 'ere, sweetie. You got him more quiet than usual."

"I... I don't understand..."

"Well," Sean began, sitting up in his seat. "I know that you're really into drawing, and so was I when I was your age. And I've seen how you only really have your notebooks and pencils, so I thought that you'd appreciate having some better materials. It's my gift to you, from one artist to another."

Chris sat silently. Staring down at the sketchbook in his hands, he found it hard to blink away the tears welling up in his eyes. "'N' now you got him cryin'. Yer on a role this mornin', sweetie."

Chris looked up, smiling. "Thank you, Sean. This means so much, you have _no idea."_

"You're welcome, little man. I'm glad that you're happy with it. Merry Christmas."

He decided right then and there that this had to have been the best Christmas he's had in a long, long while.

Chris never realized how _quiet_ the house was until Sean & Co. left. Where there had been much merriment late into the night, the house filled with the sounds of cheers and laughter now instead sat with a somber silence that made him feel strange. Melancholic, perhaps. It was February now. _"Almost seventeen."_ Just thinking about it gave Chris butterflies in his tummy.

It was another dark, cold, winter night in Seattle. Sitting on the porch wrapped in his winter jacket thrown over his usual grimy t-shirt, stolen from Daniel, and pajama bottoms, the look found itself finished off with a pair of winter boots, bought with money sent by Claire and Stephen a few weeks after their delivery to Daniel. They were nice. Snug and warm on his feet as he sat deep in thought, staring out into the night. He had used up a little bit of space in the book beforehand, drawing all sorts of things -- nights spent in with Daniel and Esteban, nights spent sitting with Daniel's friends. There were sketches of Daniel and his friends, some out of his own volition and some out of request. But lately, he found himself in a block, unable to think of anything worth jotting down.

He jumped, hearing the door open from behind him. Feeling relief pool in his stomach, he watched as Daniel leisurely strolled over, sitting down next to him. "What? You're not playing on your PlayBox tonight?"

"Nah," Daniel hummed. "Noah got off early, 'studying for my math test' or whatever the fuck he said. Plus, I just felt like stepping out for a breath of fresh air."

Chris cringed, imagining the cold creeping up his flesh as he looked Daniel over, wearing nothing aside from his normal t-shirt and shorts that he considered his regular pajamas. If it were any consolation, Daniel would have told him, he _was_ wearing socks. "Jesus, Danny... go inside and put some actual clothes on."

"Nah man, I won't be out for too long. Swear," he murmured, digging in his pocket. "It ain't even that cold out."

Chris watched as Daniel sighed, shivering ever so slightly as he held his hand over the flame of the lighter, cursing around the joint in his mouth. He took a long drag before turning to Chris. “What? Dad gets upset if I smoke in my room, so I do it out here. It ain't nicotine if that's what you're worried about. Quit that shit after you gave me a beatdown back in Beaver Creek." He snatched it quickly from his mouth, motioning to Chris. "You wanna join me? I know yer into acting like a goody-two-shoes 'n' all that, but I thought--"

"I, uh, yeah. Sure." He hesitated, taking the slim piece of rolled paper gingerly from between Daniel's fingers. "Um... how do I...?"

"Just... y'know, inhale, dude." Daniel watched as Chris nervously placed the joint between his lips, sucking in for a few seconds before falling into a deep hacking fit. Patting him on the back, Daniel quickly took the piece back. "Jesus, man. Don't die on me now."

"Shit, I--" Chris choked out, trying his best to get any thought out without coughing up a lung. "Fuck, I know I'm lame, I just-- shit, I... sorry."

"Nah, dude," Daniel chuckled, continuing to pat him on the back. "Everybody's gotta start somewhere, you'll get better with time."

"After _that,_ I don't think I'm willing to try again."

Daniel cackled, kicking his heels against the front of the deck. Taking a moment to recuperate, he turned again to Chris. "So... your birthday is tomorrow. The big one-seven, right?"

"Oh? You remembered that?"

"Shit, of course. What kinda guy would I be if I forgot my boyfriend's birthday?"

That warm feeling returned to Chris' chest. He had been hearing Daniel say that more and more often.

Boyfriend.

_Boyfriend._

No matter how many times he heard it come from Daniel's lips, no matter how many times he said it to himself, it still filled Chris with a childlike sense of glee.

"Whaddya plan on doin'? You gonna have a big ole party or somethin'?"

"Actually," Chris shifted over, sitting closer to Daniel, "I'm not really sure. If I'm being honest... it's kinda psyching me out."

Daniel scoffed. "I don't get why you'd be scared. That weed must be hittin' in now, huh?" He paused, chuckling as he took another drag, exhaling slowly. "If I were you, I'd be fuckin' ecstatic. Yer almost home free, almost outta here. Shit, where do you wanna go once this is all over? High school 'n' shit, I mean. I was thinkin' of jetting it somewhere where there's always somethin' goin' on. Like L.A. or New York City, or--"

"Danny." He placed his hand on Daniel's, sighing softly. "I... I don't really know. Honest. I never thought about it until recently. It's kinda scary-- no, _terrifying._ I don't wanna grow up, I just wanna... damn, I dunno, stay at home. I just wanna be a kid again. It's only one more year 'n' then I'm a full adult... I don't want to grow up. Having to do all that adult stuff, having to live on my own, getting a job, _taxes!_ Don't even get me started on taxes."

Daniel shivered in solidarity. "Shit, I get a fuckin' headache even _LOOKING_ at all the bills my dad's gotta pay." He sighed, hunching over. He looked to his hand, rolling the joint back and forth between his fingers. "It really fuckin' blows that Sean 'n' Finn ain't around to help him. I know they got their own lives down in Cali -- hell, they're gonna get fuckin' married! My brother! And that fuckin' goofy bastard who used to tell us that he would carve wood for shits 'n' giggles! It just sucks, having to watch my old man break his back every damn time to keep this our lil' ship running."

"That's what I'm talkin' about, Danny! All of it, all that adult stuff, it scares me. I just wanna... y'know..." he mumbled, scooting closer to Daniel. He smiled slightly, feeling his arm wrap around his shoulders as he placed his head down on his shoulder. "I just wanna stay a kid, y'know?"

"Shit," Daniel sighed, patting Chris' shoulder as he placed his head atop his. "I know how that feels. But, take some of yer own advice 'n' look on the bright side, dude. You got a whole year to figure all this out. 'N' don't worry," he lifted Chris' chin, looking him face-to-face. "I'm in this with you, dude." Taking a deep breath, he stood. "Well, shit. Enough of all this sappy talk. I'll stop botherin' you about your birthday, I'll leave all the celebratin' for tomorrow. Let's just head to bed 'n' worry about all this when it comes up."

"Why do you wanna head inside so quickly for?" Chris grinned. "You gettin' cold?"

Daniel let out a defiant _hmmph,_ flicking the still-lit joint into the snow, watching it die with a hiss almost as pitiful as the slushy remnants of winter-passed. "Dude, fuck you. Let's head inside."

As much as Chris hated to think about it, the passage of time had really messed with him for the past week. Here he sat, barely paying attention in all his classes; analyzing his own upcoming birthday plans rather than annotating the writings of Shakespeare and Bradbury, doing mental gymnastics thinking of what type of cake Esteban would get him rather than doing pullups, drawing images in his mind over what friends and family would think rather than drawing self-portraits, hypothesizing about how to spend any money from family rather than figuring out what he got wrong on his test. No matter what, throughout the day, Chris couldn't help but let his mind wander.

"Chris? Are you even listening to me?"

"What?" Chris looked up from the bed, staring at Daniel as he stood at the corner. "I'm sorry, I was just thinking. What did you say?"

"It's fine, dude. I just wanted to come in here 'n' tell you that my dad's got your cake all ready. Candles 'n' everything."

"Alright, I'm comin'. Tell him I'll be out soon." He sighed, stretching out before rising to his feet. Slowly, he made his way out of the bedroom.

There wasn't much that went into decorating, Chris had made sure of that. For Christmas, Esteban had _really_ gotten into the spirit of the holiday, not one inch of the house wasn't decked in at least some form of decoration. He had asked what type of environment Chris would like for his birthday. Gently, Chris told him that he didn't want anything too flashy, telling him not to waste his time decorating the house for the occasion.

"Sorry, kiddo. I know you didn't want too much, but I still feel bad. I know that not having Sean and Finn around probably doesn't help much either. I know they were really looking forward to celebrating with you."

"It's fine, Esteban. Really, it's not any trouble to me. I kinda prefer a more chill environment." He made his way to the counter, staring down at the cake in front of him. It was half-chocolate, half-vanilla with blue buttercream frosting spread atop.

Daniel groaned. "C'mon, why couldn't you have gotten whipped cream instead?"

"Daniel, it's _his_ birthday. He can choose whatever he wants."

Chris took a moment to think of his wish, taking a deep breath and leaning over into the candles. "Hold on just a minute!" Chris exhaled, watching as Esteban held his hand up. He took the time to readjust his camera, the soft _clicks_ of the camera filling the room as the boys sat idly.

"Dad," Daniel groaned, covering his face. "Nobody even uses Facebook anymore."

"Well, I use it. And your grandparents use it. Plus, Sean and the rest of them aren't here to see this either. Don't you think they'd want to see Chris' seventeenth birthday?" Esteban took a couple more minutes, getting the correct angles and lighting before finally finishing. "Alright, _now_ you can blow out your candles."

With a quick huff, the candles extinguished, leaving behind a smell that Daniel gagged at. "Jesus fuckin' Christ... anyways, what'd ya wish for?"

"Mijo, it won't come true if he says it out loud."

"C'mon, Chris. Spill the beans, just tell us what you wished for."

"Actually," Chris simpered, "I think I agree with your dad on this one."

Daniel opened his mouth to say something, changing his mind last minute. "Whatever," he clicked his tongue. "Can we _at least_ have some cake now?"

Chris groaned, stretching out on the bed. There was nothing in the world like sheets fresh out of the dryer.

Taking a moment to scroll through Facebook, he looked to his new notification; he had been tagged in a photo by Esteban Diaz. He smiled, looking at the picture of him and Daniel standing side-by-side, bunkering down by the cake as Esteban went on his photoshoot. To his surprise, the photo already amassed fifteen likes, not including Claire and Stephen, his own grandparents, or any of Daniel's friends. Not even his own.

**Claire Reynolds:** Absolutely adorable! Missing him, tell him we said hi!

**Lyla Park:** Looks like you're having fun, where was my invite?? 😳😳😳

**Esteban Diaz:** Lyla, you know you're welcome in my home anytime.

Scrolling through his phone, he noticed a bright red dot next to his messages. _"I got something?"_ It took him by surprise, _three different messages_ just for him.

**Sean**

Hey Chris

Happy birthday!

Sorry that I couldn't be there for it

Just know that we're all so excited for U down here

I'm really excited for U, 17 is a huge achievement

If U ever feel nervous about it, feel free to shoot me a text

Thank you, Sean. That means a lot. :)

Oh! Before I forget

I drew U something as a gift. It should get to you in a week or so

Thanks, Sean. I'm looking forward to seeing it!!

  
  


**Finn**

Hey, lil' man. Happy birthday!!

Thanks, Finn. :)

Man, I really wish we were there for you. Can't really dip out this time to come n see you.

It's fine, it means a lot that you even want to be here with me.

Hey, I've gotta crazy plan

I... don't like the sound of that.

Why?

What has Sean told you?

Not much... just a lot about your 'get rich schemes' back 

when you took that 'farming job' one summer

Man... I really wish everyone would just let that go already...

This is different

I was thinking, maybe next time I'm around, you could come n smoke with me n the hubby

If Daniel hasn't already ruined that experience for you, at least

Mmm, maybe. I'll think about it.

Talk soon, Finn. It's always nice to hear from you.

  
  


**Cassidy**

Hey, lil' dude.

I'll try to keep this short n sweet, I'm not too good with my words if it ain't for my songs.

I just wanted to shoot you a message to say that our talk during break meant a lot to me. It's been real hard for me lately,

I've been thinkin lots about how shitty things ended with my own ma n pa, so being able to talk with somebody else

about this type of shit really makes me feel better.

Happy birthday, lil' dude. Don't be a stranger, feel free to message me anytime.

Don't worry. I can always make time for you, Cassidy. :)

Hope to hear from you again soon!!

Chris sighed, placing his phone to his side as it died with a soft _click._ He rose from the bed, making his way to the door when he heard another soft _ping_ come from behind him. _"Another message?"_ He made his way to the bed, looking at his screen. _"An unknown number...?"_

He opened the notification.

**Unknown Number**

hey dude

how the fuck are ya

Um... hello.

I'm sorry, but who is this? I don't think I have you saved.

wow

fuckin rude

jk

it's Grace

Oh! Hey!!!

How'd you get my number?? I don't think you ever asked for it.

not to ur face, nah

i did ask Daniel, he gave it to me for the bag of chips 

from my lunchbox and a handy

...What?

just kidding around my dude

i only gave him the handy

i miss my chips

jk

again

Jesus Christ, Grace...

i saw it was ur birthday today on facebook

happy birthday

how old

Thanks!

I just turned seventeen.

17????????

damn that's crazyyyyyy

almost old enough to like

buy a lot of shit actually

u should buy me some cigarettes when u turn 18 next year

anyways

i saw u didn't invite me

Oh, I'm sorry about that!! I was going to, but I thought you probably

wouldn't be interested to come to my party.

It wasn't much anyways, just blowing out candles. I did almost fistfight

Daniel when he tried to smash my face into my slice of cake.

damn

i kinda wanted to see that

but nah

it's fine bro

i just wanted to tell ya happy bday

i might or might not have gotten u something from the store

Oh, cool! What is it??

so

i know how u like drawing n all that shit

kinda like Daniel's big bro

so i nabbed some pencils for u

like

the good expensive shit

You said you 'nabbed it'???

Grace, did you pay for anything?

...

um...

see

there's a funny story to that

Grace...

don't worry

i'll pay them back somehow

...eventually

oh shit

momzilla's on the way, gotta get to bed

see you at school, bro

Good night, Grace.

I'll make sure to send you an invite next time.

"Chris? Hey, Chris? You still awake?"

Chris placed his phone down, this time, for good. "Yeah, just checking my texts."

"Good, didn't want to make all this effort for you to be sleepin' on me." Daniel closed the door behind him, skittering across the floor. In his hand was a double chocolate chip muffin, adorned with all sorts of sprinkles and one lone candle. Chris chuckled. _"Did he decorate it himself?"_

"Where'd you get that from?"

"Bought it," Daniel said curtly, smiling. "From the school's other menu, you wouldn't believe how fuckin' overpriced all the shit is there. Two dollars for a shitty whole wheat cookie? Fuckin' bullshit, I tell you. But for you," he said, stepping closer to Chris, digging in his pocket with his other hand, "it's worth it." From his pocket in his hand emerged his lighter. Without a word, he placed the open fire to the wick, watching with wonder as it caught flames.

"Dude, I just blew out candles, like, an hour ago with you and your dad. What do I need to do it for again?"

"Hey, what's wrong with _two_ wishes?"

"I don't think that's how it works."

"Shut up, you fuckin' smartass, 'n' take yer fuckin' muffin."

Chris looked into the flame, thinking for a moment before taking in a deep breath, watching the fire snuff itself out.

"Hey, you never told me. What did you wish for?"

"C'mon, Danny. It's bad luck to tell your wish."

"You believe in that horseshit? C'mon, dude. Just tell me, I promise I won't snitch to whatever birthday wizards you're referring to."

"Well... I dunno. I've been thinking about it for a long while. I thought, and thought, and thought about what I would want the most for my birthday, and then it came to me; I don't really need anything else. Being here with you and your family, I kinda think that's already enough.

Daniel sucked in a breath through his teeth. "Well, shit. I woulda' wished for a million dollars or a pony or somethin'," he began, unwrapping the muffin, snatching the candle out of the top before placing it in his hands, "but I guess your non-wish is pretty cool too."

Daniel smiled, placing a kiss on his forehead. "Happy birthday, Chris."

_This dream isn't feeling sweet_

_We're reeling through the midnight streets_

_And I've never felt more alone_

_It feels so scary, getting old_

_This dream isn't feeling sweet_

_We're reeling through the midnight streets_

_And I've never felt more alone_

_It feels so scary, getting old_

_I want 'em back (I want 'em back)_

_The minds we had (The minds we had)_

_How all the thoughts (How all the thoughts)_

_Moved 'round our heads (Moved 'round our heads)_

_I want 'em back (I want 'em back)_

_The minds we had (The minds we had)_

_It's not enough to feel the lack_

_I want 'em back, I want 'em back, I want 'em_

_You're the only friend I need (You're the only friend I need)_

_Sharing beds like little kids (Sharing beds like little kids)_

_And laughing till our ribs get tough (Laughing till our ribs get tough)_

_But that will never be enough (But that will never be enough)_

_You're the only friend I need (You're the only friend I need)_

_Sharing beds like little kids (Sharing beds like little kids)_

_And laughing till our ribs get tough (Laughing till our ribs get tough)_

_But that will never be enough (But that will never be enough)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvA7-EjaSPI) // Frank Sinatra  
> [Ribs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qaeoz_7cyE) // Lorde  
> [Spotify Playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/57WdUoSVi9lxzOynxyEQ95?si=_UY21RjwR8aThw-6b2izOw)
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed the second chapter!
> 
> First of all; how’s everyone feeling about that ending of Life is Strange 2? I’m pretty pleased with the ending I got, but maybe that’s because I’m ~~very~~ a little biased towards Finn. I just liked that ending way more; both the brothers get what they want. Sean gets a fresh start in Esteban’s hometown with the love of his life (depending on whether or not you romanced Cassidy or Finn), and Daniel gets a normal childhood (or as normal as he can get, with telekinetic powers and the FBI breathing down his neck), growing up with Chris and staying in contact with Karen, and hopefully the rest of Away as a result. And the Wolf Bros. even stay in contact with each other despite walking different paths. In the end, what more could you really want for these two boys who deserved so much better than they got? Who knows, I may even write some stuff for that specific ending in the future.
> 
> Overall though, I’m really thrilled with how this game went, even if there were some rough patches along the way. I think it was an intriguing story, and I definitely hope to see more of the series in the future -- whether that be through spinoffs about the sequel crew like there was for Before the Storm or a comic like they’re doing with Max and Chloe, or maybe even another game. Who knows, maybe we could see a little bit more on how Sean and Daniel ended up based on your choices in the future.
> 
> Just a heads up; it might take me a little bit to get the next few chapters of the story out -- you know, school and the sort. I know I originally promised a weekly release schedule, and I apologize for not being able to follow through with that promise, but school is really kickin’ the shit out of me, so it’s a little harder to pump out chapters as fast as I did during the summer. Just know that like this half of the story, when I get it done, I’ll release it as soon as possible! Hopefully, I’ll get better with that sort of release schedule in the future with other stories, wink wink.
> 
> Until then, keep up with me outside of writing! Come say hi, have some fun, I don’t bite. :))  
> [Tumblr](https://apotofstu.tumblr.com)  
> [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/marcasshole/)  
> [Twitter (Writing)](https://twitter.com/MarcusBWriting)


	3. spring.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Chris and Daniel's school year ends, the boys try something new, Daniel celebrates turning seventeen, and a record is set straight between friends.
> 
> Word Count: 10.7k

Taking in a big whiff, Chris sighed. The smell of microwave popcorn had become all but common to him now that Grace had started spending more time at the Diaz household. Of course, it wasn't her first time. Daniel had given him nights filled with all sorts of secret Diaz-Moore lore; the two had met in their third year of middle school together. Grace was the new kid in town, having moved with her family across the state from Florida following a job opportunity in Seattle, and being the new kid, as Chris knew, was  _ tough. _ From what he had told Chris, Daniel was her first real friend. Bonding quickly over their shared love of old Aweso Comics material, they had been as thick as thieves from then on.

With a bowl big enough to fit more than three bags of popcorn in his hand and three bottles of Coke in between his forearm and armpit, Chris made his way back to the room. "Alright, you guys. I'm back, what did I--" He stopped in his tracks, watching as Daniel laid on his back, his head in Grace's lap as she played with his hair.

Daniel shifted in his bed, looking to the figure in the doorway. "Hey, Chris. We got tired a lil' tired of waiting, so we started another show without you. We aren't  _ that _ far in, so we don't need to rewind unless you want us to."

"No, I'm-- you two can continue from where you are now, that's fine."

Chris sat down, positioning the bowl in his lap as he stared at the two from the corner of his eye. The three of them sat in silence, the duo next to him occasionally bursting into laughter over the content on the TV screen. It was an older show, from Daniel's childhood, Chris believed. The classic Hawt Dawg Man cartoon, it had been put on streaming services only a couple of weeks ago, and yet, they had only just started watching it.

"So," Chris coughed, "what were you two... doing just now? When I came in?"

"Oh, nothin'... just seeing if I could braid Daniel's hair."

"Yeah," Daniel sat up with a loud groan, shifting over to the spot between the two. "My hair's getting pretty long. Dad's said we've been pretty short on cash lately since bills 'n' shit, so I was thinkin' of shaving my head or somethin' instead of going out 'n' paying ten bucks for something that I could do in the tub for free."

"I don't get why you'd want to do something like that, Daniel." In one swift motion, Grace placed her hand on Daniel's head, stroking his hair gently. "Your hair is so nice."

Daniel grinned, scratching at the stubble on his chin as he wrapped an arm around Chris. "Yeah, not half as his, though. His hair is real nice, even with the dye." With a sound of realization, Daniel turned to his boyfriend. "That reminds me, we really need to re-dye this."

"You think?" Chris let out a shy smile, leaning into Daniel's touch as he took the lock of crudely-colored hair, running it between his fingers. "I dunno... doesn't dye, like, mess with your hair?"

"Yeah, but I thought it looked real cute on you."

Grace snorted. "C'mon, you two. Get a--"

"Now, why are you three just sitting in here stroking each other's hair?"

"Jesus, dad," Daniel exhaled, scratching the back of his neck. "Scared the fuck outta me."

"Don't even get me started on your language just now, mister. What're you three doing up so late on a school night?"

"...Dad," Daniel murmured, cringing as he listened to Grace's best attempt to stifle her snickering. "It's Saturday."

"Is it really? Damn, just how long was I in that garage..." Esteban sighed, turning back to the three after standing still for a while. "Alright then, make sure to be quiet, you three. And Grace, your mom knows you're here, right?"

"More or less," she puffed. "Told her I was headed out to a friend's, didn't tell her  _ where, _ though. By the way, I meant to ask earlier, but never got around to it, since you're here now -- is it alright if I sleep here tonight?"

"That's fine with me, just call her before you make any commitments, alright?"

"Will do. Have a good night, Mr. Diaz."

"Mmhmm. Daniel?"

"Yeah, dad?"

"Stay quiet."

"Yeah, I know. Not like you haven't told us already."

"Just making sure. I'll make eggs for you three before I drive Grace home. Good night, mijo."

"Night, dad."

Daniel sniffled, wiping his nose on the back of his sleeve. "Shit, sorry. Fuckin' allergies, man. I tell you."

"You could've apologized sooner, nearly pissed myself when you sneezed on the way here."

"What? I'm not allowed to sneeze?"

"Not when you nearly swerve off the road and get us killed, no."

"Whatever, it's not my fault that I've got a dad sneeze."

"A  _ what _ now?"

"Like, a dad sneeze. Y'know what I mean?"

"No, not at all."

"Like, dads sneeze loud as fuck. My dad does, at least, 'n' he passed it on to me. That's like, how genetics 'n' all that works, right?"

"No," Chris snorted, covering his face with his hand, "that is absolutely not how any of that works."

"Whatever, dude, we both know you're the genius that's passin' all his classes. You don't need to rub it in."

"What do you mean?"

"Fuck, my dad didn't tell you? He was chewing my ass out for the past week because I'm failing math."

"Dude, what?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I don't need you on my ass too."

"What happened? I thought you were doing so well..."

Daniel shrugged. "I dunno... just, just nothin'. I got bored, so I didn't care enough to pay attention, 'n' now everybody's way ahead of me 'n' I feel so lost in there."

Chris hummed, linking his arm with his boyfriend's. "Well, that's what happens when you don't pay attention, Danny."

"Man," Daniel huffed, shaking Chris' arm from his own, "fuck you, I'm serious. I feel so fuckin' lost in there. I have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing."

"Well," Chris asked, "do you have any idea on what you could be doing to pass?"

"Uh... kinda, yeah. There's this one thing..."

Chris nodded. "Go on."

"Fuck, man, I don't know. It's some fuckin' project that I never got in on time. Didn't even start it, I think. It's fuckin' with my grade, real bad too."

"Well," Chris said, raising his clasped hands in apology towards the cars waiting for them to cross, "maybe I could help?"

"Shit, would you?"

"I mean, I can try. It all depends, what's the project about?"

"Well--"

"Hey, you two~!!" Grace wrapped her arms around the boy's shoulders, placing herself in between them. "God, you guys are tall... anyways, what's goin' on? What'd I miss?"

"Shit, not much. Just tellin' Chris here 'bout that stupid ass math class I was talking about last night."

"Oh, geez,  _ that. _ You finally find a solution?"

"Sorta... I was thinkin' that maybe Chris could help us out tonight."

"Fuck yeah," she cheered, giving Chris a playful punch to the shoulder. "He's fuckin' smart, we'll be done in no time!"

"Yeah," Daniel grinned, patting Chris on the shoulder, "I guess you can say that's  _ one _ of his appeals." He stopped dead in his tracks, sending Chris and Grace lurching forward, almost toppling to the ground if it weren't for her vice grip on the two.

"Jesus, Daniel, what the fuck?!"

"Did I even tell you two what I was supposed to be doing?"

Chris thought for a moment. "No, not really."

Daniel continued walking, motioning to the two to follow. "Well, lemme fill you in real quick, then."

The three piled out of the truck, Daniel cursing to himself.

Chris stood, staring on as Daniel debated demolishing the vehicle right then and there to himself. "Didn't your dad  _ just _ fix the truck up like a couple of days ago?"

"Yeah--" he huffed, opting-out to giving the truck's hood a swift kick, slinging his backpack over his shoulder afterward. "But that doesn't look like it's working, I guess."

Leaning against the truck, Grace yawned, stretching her arms over her head. "You done with your little hissy fit? Let's get inside, I wanna eat some candy."

The three entered the house, Chris practically  _ felt _ the shivers go up his spine as Grace giggled. "Damn, your brother must've fucked this place up during spring break, huh? You shoulda invited me, it looks like it was one helluva party."

"Yeah... that's the thing," Daniel awkwardly laughed, scratching at his face. "See, what happened was--"

"What happened," Esteban interrupted, climbing up the stairs from the garage, "was that  _ you _ haven't been carrying your weight around with chores, young man. And I still expect you to go through with them now that you're home."

"Dad... I have--"

"Dad  _ nothing. _ You decided to skip out on the  _ one _ chore you've had in this house ever since Sean left for college."

"I have homework," Daniel whined, shifting from foot-to-foot, "Grace come over to help 'n' everything."

"Well," Esteban tapped his foot against the floor, unbudging in his position on the matter, "now she can wait with Chris in your room while you clean this mess up."

"With  _ Chris?! _ Why doesn't he have to stay out and help?!"

"Because he  _ actually _ does the chores that were assigned to him. Now, get a move on. Quickly."

Chris quickly realized that he had never actually been in a room  _ alone _ with Grace. They've had one-on-one conversations -- over text, sure, but a conversation nonetheless -- but actual, face-to-face talking?

"So," she breathed, staring at the newly-acquired movie posters on the bedroom walls, "how're your classes goin'? New quarter, new classes 'n' all that shit."

"Oh," Chris thought for a moment, trying to remember his schedule that he had forgotten at the moment. "I think my P.E. class got traded out for a history class, and my last hour got switched from economics to Spanish."

"Spanish? You tryin' to impress Daniel 'n' his family or somethin'?"

"Maybe just a little bit," Chris blushed, rubbing the nape of his neck. "I think it's an interesting language, but I guess being able to understand Danny and the others when they're talking is an upside, even if it's only a little bit--"

"What's this?" Chris tensed up, watching as Grace squatted down to the floor. She had caught a glimpse of  _ something _ under the bed as she placed her backpack down on the floor and ever the curious soul, she just  _ had _ to see what she was looking at. Turning the sketchbook in her hands over a few times, she stood in silent awe.

She flinched, feeling Chris snatch the book from her hands, moving faster than she could ever imagine somebody of his demeanor. "Woah, man. No need to do all that, I was just lookin'. You got porn or somethin' in there that you don't want me to see, or...?"

Chris tried his best to compose himself. 

_ "Fuck, am I shaking?" _

He looked at Grace, hoping she didn't notice. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-- it's just that... fuck, I don't know. I never had privacy back at home, so I just don't like people taking my stuff like that."

Grace clicked her tongue, shaking her head. "Shit, man. I hear ya, overbearing parents suck ass. No need to apologize, I know the feeling."

Chris slowly extended his arms out, holding the sketchbook out. "You can still look at if you want..."

"You sure?"

"Yeah," Chris smiled, gesturing for her to take the book from his hands. "It's fine with me, I've been trying to push myself to showcase my stuff more anyway."

"Alright, lemme see what Daniel makes such a big fuss over." Taking it from Chris' hands, she flipped it open, running her fingers over the sketches. 

With a quiet  _ creak, _ Daniel entered the bedroom, sighing a heavy sigh. "Sorry 'bout that. Whatcha doin' in here since I've been gone?"

"Nothin' much," Grace hummed, flipping through the book. "Just lookin' at Chris' drawings."

"Yer in for a treat. I've told you how great he is at that shit, right?"

"Yes," Grace chided, rolling her eyes before looking back down at the book in her hands. "Many,  _ many _ times, dude."

"Shit, sorry 'bout that, then. Just thought his work was worth sharin' is all." With a sigh, Daniel dropped his backpack from over his shoulder to the seat below. "I've got all the stuff here, we can begin whenever y'all want."

The work took  _ much _ longer than Chris cared to admit. Daniel had told them that morning that it would be a quick, easy-and-done project; just get their numbers down, then contact others in the class for theirs. But when Daniel said he was behind, he meant that he was  _ behind. _ What should've taken only about half an hour ended up taking an hour and a half, trying and failing to contact a classmate who still had their data from a month ago. Finally, after tracking down every student they could trying to get data, Daniel felt that he had everything he needed.

"We all done?" Chris sighed, leaning back as much as he could on his shared seat with Daniel.

"Yup!" With a triumphant look, Daniel clasped his hands together, giggling. "Now, let's get to the good part." He turned, looking to Grace. She was still looking through Chris' sketchbook. "You gonna come 'n' help us eat, Grace?"

Grace placed the sketchbook down as she rose from her seat on their bed. "Yeah, just--" She stopped, feeling the phone in her pocket buzz to life, the tone filling the room.

"Jesus, unprofessional much? Who's tryin' to call you at this time of day?"

"Fuck you, dude," she huffed, fishing her phone from her pocket. "It's my mom. Got to take this, I'll be right back."

"Well, alright. We'll  _ try _ to save some for you, you 'n' Christopher can eat the candy part. Save the peanuts for me."

"What? But--"

Grace nodded. "Will do." She tapped at her phone, picking up the call. "Hey, mom. Yeah, I'm good, what about-- huh? No, I'm just helping--"

"What were you trying to complain about?"

Chris frowned. "Eating the peanut part  _ only? _ Seriously?"

"Fuck yeah, I know how much Grace likes candy, 'n' you probably aren't much different. What's wrong with that?"

"Danny, they would've been in our mouths already. Why'd you want to eat that?"

Daniel glared at him for a moment. "Dude, we've  _ literally _ fucked, do you  _ really _ think I care about eating peanuts with your spit?"

Chris let out a shriek, covering Daniel's mouth with his hand. Leaning over, he looked to the door before leaning back into his boyfriend. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Dude," Daniel groaned, removing Chris' hand from his face, "what the fuck are  _ you _ doing?"

"She's right outside, what if she heard you?!"

"Dude, you worried that she's, like, homophobic or somethin'? She's super chill, why would she--"

"Hey! Sorry 'bout that, y'know how my mom is." Rounding the corner, Grace placed herself to the side of their desk, leaning into them with a grin. "What were you two talkin' about? And what was up with that scream?"

"Oh, nothin'," Daniel said, wrapping his arm around Chris. "Just got into a lil' tickle fight with Chris here is all."

"And you screamed because...?"

"What can I say," Chris chuckled awkwardly, coughing into his fist, "I'm ticklish."

"Alright," she sighed, looking at the desk. Her face filled with horror. "What the fuck, did you guys  _ seriously _ start eating without me?!"

Chris looked down at the desk, a sheet of crimson spreading over his face. Without even realizing it, he had been munching away at six of the candies from Daniel's packet. He looked up nervously. "Shoot, sorry. I--"

"Well, shit Gracie. I don't know what to tell ya."

"Goddammit, dude. Y'know how much I love these things." With a defiant snort, Grace snatched a red-colored M&M from the desk, crunching it between her teeth. "Could've warned me before you started hogging them."

Daniel leaned back against his chair, shooting a grin at her. "Y'know what they say; you snooze, you lose."

"Chris? Christopher?"

"Huh?" He shot up in his seat, barely aware of the fact that he had been falling asleep in class. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Well, while you were napping, we were discussing the story we've been reading in class. Do you care to share your thoughts on it, or have you been too absorbed into your  _ other _ interests?"

He felt his face burn red hot, the class snickering around him. "I'm sorry, I didn't finish reading the chapter you assigned to us."

"Hmmph, alright." He sighed, before looking to another student. "What about you, Helena? What're your thoughts on the story?"

"Honestly," she clicked her tongue, "I think it kinda blows."

"And why is that?  _ Of Mice & Men _ is a classic story, why don't you like it?"

"It's boring, who cares about two guys just walking around and doing a bunch of boring stuff on a farm? Not me, that's for sure."

"Actually," another student chimed in, Chris couldn't remember her name. Something with a k, Kenny? Kevin? "I disagree, I really like it so far. I think the mundaneness of it really adds to the theme."

" _ Mundaneness? _ Jesus, what kinda bullshit is that?"

"Language, Helena! In this classroom, everyone can--" before he knew it, the class dissolved into its usual chaos. Try as he might, the class refused to listen, having all sorts of side conversations, whether they be about the topic at hand or not.

Chris felt a familiar buzz in his pocket. Digging through, he grabbed his phone.

Danny❤️

hey

Where r u

In class, we're talking about Of Mice & Men

ew

i hated that one

Well, you're not alone.

The whole class just broke into an argument over it.

shit

if ur free, why don't u come to the bathroom real quick???? i need 2 talk to u

What do you need?

ill tell u when u get here

Chris rose from his seat, making his way over to the door. With quick hands, he grabbed the hall pass, slipping out of the room before the teacher could notice his absence.

The halls were quiet.  _ Too quiet. _ Despite his best effort to calm himself, Chris couldn't help but let his mind wander.  _ "What if the hall monitors are out? Are they gonna try to grab me if they see me? No, I have the hall pass why would they--" _

Finally, after walking around for what felt like forever, Chris found himself in front of the boys' restrooms. Taking a deep breath in, he entered.

"Danny? Daniel? Are you in here?" He rounded the corner, looking around the empty room for a moment.  _ "Well, at least nobody's here." _ He sighed with relief, watching as Daniel emerged from the larger stall.

"Hey! Took you long enough to get here." Daniel pulled Chris into a hug, breaking away after holding him close for a moment. "And don't worry, dude. I wasn't pissin' or nothin', my hands are clean."

"That's good to know, I guess." He stepped back, looking him over. "What did you need?"

"Shit, nothin' much. Just a quick kiss during class, maybe see where it goes from there."

Chris frowned. "Seriously, Danny, what do you want?"

"I  _ am _ being serious," Daniel sang, covering his face in kisses as he took Chris into another embrace. "I'm just  _ so _ in love with you, I can't get enough of you."

Chris whined, squirming under his touch. "Dude, the teacher only gives us one hall pass per week. If you don't need anything, then let me get back to class. If I'm lucky, he didn't notice that I left." Slipping from under his arms, Chris began his way out of the restroom and into the hallway.

"Shit, Chris! Wait! I actually need to talk to you about somethin'. I was just pullin' yer leg, dude." He wrapped his arm around Chris' shoulder, dragging him to the mirrors. Chris cringed, the water stains and graffiti that lined the mirror providing an unsavory image in his head. Squeezing, Daniel turned to him. "You notice anything?"

_ "Aside from how gross this room is?" _ Chris took a moment to look at the two of them in the mirror. Daniel had gotten dressed quickly that morning -- he hadn't even taken the time to notice he had put on one of Chris' shirts before they left the house. He noticed the tattoo on Daniel's wrist -- the one he had given to him on their last day in Beaver creek was healing well. For his first time, Chris had done a pretty good job.

Daniel's question raised back in his mind. "No, not really. Nothing out of the ordinary."

Daniel groaned, twisting his wrist to point towards Chris' head. "I'm talkin' about this."

"My head? Are you trying to say I have a big forehead again?"

"No, no," Daniel said, trying his best to suppress his laughter of the memory. "What I'm getting at is that I'm gettin' real sick 'n' tired of looking at the same thing, for  _ both _ of us. So I was thinkin', 'n' hear me out for a minute, I was thinkin' we could try out some new looks for the summer. Maybe if we like them, we can keep them into the next school year."

"Alright, I'm fine with that."

"...You're serious?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be? What, you think I'm always gonna be 'Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes?'"

"Nah," Daniel murmured, scratching his chin, "just surprised you're actually on board right away for once, no need for me to try 'n' convince you."

"Well, I'm into it. I'm good with trying something new." He broke away from Daniel's grasp, leaning against the sinks. "What do you have in mind?"

"Well," he began, "here's what I was thinkin'..."

He tousled his hair for a second, his hands on the top of his head as he held his hair up in the air. Chris turned, watching as Daniel entered the bathroom, the box of blue hair dye in his hand. "Are you sure that your dad is fine with you buying something so impulsively?"

"Yeah, as long as it ain't gonna kill me, he's fine with however I decide to spend my money. And before you explain," Daniel hummed, slipping a pack of rubber gloves still wrapped in their packaging from under his arm, "yes, I  _ do _ have everything we need to dye your hair." Without a word, Daniel nodded his head towards the tub, motioning for Chris to take a seat.

His hands in his lap, Chris cringed as he watched Daniel rip open the box, jumping up from his seat as the gloves snapped against his wrists. He hadn't designated a specific place, and yet Daniel knew exactly where to apply the dye; above his left eye, the same place he had dyed the previous summer. "So," he mused, trying his best to look at the boy leaning into him without messing with the dye job, "did you dye your hair often? You seem pretty experienced with this."

"Eh, sort of. I always did it in this bathroom, but one time in middle school I dyed my hair in the school bathroom.  _ Big _ mistake, there was dye  _ everywhere, _ fuckers made me clean up for weeks after that. I sucked  _ really badly, _ for the first few years I had to get Grace's help whenever I wanted to re-dye my hair."

"Eventually, dad started harping on me about 'ruining my hair' or whatever the fuck. So I decided that I was gonna dye it one last time, that was like a week or so before I left for Beaver Creek."

"What?" Chris chuckled, looking back up at Daniel, "Were you worried about ruining your perfect hair?"

"You joke, but yeah, kinda. Dad always told me that grandpa started balding by forty. It skipped him, so who knows, it might be or Sean's turn next. And if it happens to be  _ me, _ I want to keep my hair healthy."

"And you came to town with red tips."

"Yeah, I always liked red. It felt... fiery."

"Did you always do red, or did you do anything else?"

Daniel chuckled. "Oh, I did  _ something _ else, that's for sure. Hold up, lemme get a picture."

Peeling the dye-soaked gloves off his hands, Daniel rummaged through his pockets, digging his phone out. After tapping here and sliding there, he finally found what he was looking for. He kneeled to Chris' eye level. "Alright, now try not to laugh  _ too hard, _ alright?" He turned his phone, showing him the picture. At fourteen years old, it was one of Daniel's old Facebook photos, from when he still actively used Facebook. He sat in his bedroom, a filter thrown over his pouty face. His hair was dyed with an assortment of colors.

"Oh my God," Chris gawked, taking the phone from Daniel's hands. "Were you a scene kid or something?"

"Scene?! Gimme that!" Daniel squirmed the phone from Chris' hands, slipping it back into his pockets as he struggled to fit the old gloves back onto his hands. "You're just a hater, nobody could tell me  _ anything _ back then. I thought I looked so good."

"Alright, all done." He pulled Chris up from the seat, chuckling as he watched him rubbing his sore backside. "Told you that seat was uncomfortable."

Chris shifted, taking a look at the freshly-colored patch of hair from different angles. "It looks way better than last time."

"Yeah," Daniel scoffed, pulling his gloves off for a second time. "That's because someone with  _ actual _ experience did the job this time."

"What? I thought you liked it the time I did it myself."

"Yeah. For your first time, maybe."

"Whatever, dude. Let's go, I think that they're airing--"

"Chris?"

He turned to Daniel, watching him as he leaned against the sink. "Yeah?"

"Where d'ya think you're going? There's still more to do."

Hesitating for a moment, Chris closed the bathroom door as he stepped back in. "What else did you want?"

"You'll see," Daniel hummed, pulling the cabinet above the sink open with a soft  _ click. _ He rummaged through it, bottles of pills, shaving cream, and after-shave cluttering the sink as they fell.

"Danny..."

"Don't worry back there, I'll pick it all back up... eventually." He cursed to himself, lurking through the cabinet for a few more minutes until, finally, he found what he was looking for. "Feast your eyes, dude."

Chris took a moment to recognize what Daniel held out to him -- an electric razor. "What're you...?"

"See, I was thinkin'... since summer's 'bout to come around, 'n' it gets hot as fuck with this mop on my head," he said, taking a handful of hair between his fingers, "I was thinkin' that you could give me a shave. Or at least help me give myself a shave."

Chris thought for a moment, back to the night in their room with Grace. "You were serious about shaving your head?"

"I mean, yeah? Why wouldn't I be?"

"I mean... yeah, I guess you probably weren't joking." He sighed, folding his arms. "How are we gonna do this?"

"I dunno, maybe we just sit in the tub 'n' you can just go to town on me."

"You want to sit  _ in _ the tub?"

"Yeah? Dad's gonna beat our asses if we get hair on the floor."

"Well... shit, let's go get a stool or something then."

Finding a stool was much harder than the two thought it would be. Acquiring one was one thing, doing so without getting Esteban's attention was a whole different beast. But, after a lot of heavy lifting of assorted boxes and distractions to divert Esteban's attention, the two finally managed to get a stool from out of the basement and into the bathroom.

"Alright, so you just sit on the stool, 'n' I'll sit between your legs."

"Dude, your ass is gonna get wet."

"And? If it's  _ that _ bad, then I'll just change into somethin' else."

"Alright, if you say so." Stepping in the tub, Chris groaned. It was narrow enough on its own, with the stool crammed in crudely, he could barely fit in himself. Through flexing and a prayer, Chris finally found a way in. "Danny, I don't think you'll--"

"I'll be fine." Daniel squeezed in, spreading Chris' legs to sit in between. "There. Don't pop a boner or something, or else this will be  _ real _ awkward."

"Hmmph. I promise I'll try not to."

Chris turned the shaver on with a flick of the thumb. Slowly, he descended upon Daniel.

"Wait!"

He turned it off. "What?"

"Take it easy, dude. You're making me anxious just goin' down like that with no warning."

"What, you afraid or something?"

"No, just... fucking hate getting my hair cut, it always looks like shit. Like, there was this one time when I was ten. Dad was tight on time, so instead of sending me off to an actual barber, motherfucker put a bowl over my head 'n' went to work. God, Grace 'n' Noah wouldn't stop giving me shit over it for  _ weeks, _ I looked so fuckin' stupid."

"Well," Chris said confidently, patting Daniel's cheek, "I can promise that I'll try  _ not _ to embarrass you too badly, alright?"

"I sure fuckin' hope so, because--"

"Hey," Daniel felt Chris's hands snake their way under his chin, raising his face into the air to meet eye-to-eye. "I trusted you with  _ my _ hair. Now it's time for you to return that trust."

"Geez, alright." He gasped, feeling the razor make contact with his head. "Jeeee-zus, when'd you get so fuckin' confident anyways?"

"I don't know," Chris giggled, "but maybe it's because of this. The power might be going to my head just a little."

Daniel scoffed. " _ A little?! _ Fuckin' understatement of the year."

Listening to Chris hum as he went away at his head, Daniel noticed something. His strategy with the shaver had a quickness to it that it caught him off-guard.

"Hey, Chris?"

Chris looked down at Daniel. "Yeah?"

"I just wanna know -- how come yer so good with that?"

"With what?"

"The buzzer, I mean. You're just shavin' away hair so quickly, it's kinda scary."

"Well, my dad never really taught me how to use a razor and all that. When I wanted to shave my leg hair -- what little I had of it, anyways -- I was  _ way _ too scared to try and use an actual razor, so I just got used to these electric ones."

"Wait, if your dad didn't even teach you to shave, then why'd he get you an electric razor?"

"He didn't," Chris said, brushing a stray tuft of hair from Daniel's shoulder. "Sometimes I'd ask Mrs. Reynolds if she could buy me one, she'd sneak me them every once-in-a-while whenever I needed them."

"So why didn't you ask my grandpa to teach you? You were close with my grandparents, close enough to ask them to buy shit like that, you could've just--"

"He  _ did _ offer to teach me," he interrupted, "but I didn't want to be a burden to them, so I told him it was fine."

They talked a little bit more, and after a while, they were finally done. "Alright," Chris said, brushing the last bits of hair from his scalp, "let's go see what you look like." Daniel was the first to exit the tub, stretching out his sore legs. Chris followed shortly after, and the two made their way to the mirror.

Daniel stood for a minute, looking at himself. He ran his hand over his freshly-shaved head, thinking. Daniel grinned. "I like it."

"Really?"

"Yeah! Reminds me a lot of when my brother went around with a shaved head. I think it looks cool."

"I'm glad. Hopefully, your friends don't think it's too bad, I--" He stopped himself, watching as Daniel tried his best to scratch at the small of his back. "You good, Danny?"

"Yeah, just need to--" whipping his shirt off, Daniel's pants and underwear followed shortly after as he hopped back in the tub. "Jesus fucking Christ, so fuckin' itchy...!"

Chris stood for a moment, listening to the sound of water pattering against the tiles. He took the time to look back at himself in the mirror. His hair now dried, he touched it, fingering the coloring.  _ "Looks good," _ he thought to himself, smiling. With a sigh, he opened the bathroom door, closing it behind him with a soft  _ click. _

"Fuck, the stool's still in here! How the hell are we gonna get this back down without dad noticing?"

Chris laughed to himself, making his way into their bedroom.

Daniel paced down the halls, his bookbag slung over his shoulder. Rounding the corner, he stumbled into a familiar face. "Shit," Daniel clicked his tongue, giving the boy the once-over, "what's Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes doing out of class at this time of day?"

"Well," Chris chirped, stopping in his tracks, "I was about to ask you the same thing."

"Eh, Zidek signed me up to come 'n' talk to him, he didn't say for what though."

"That's weird--"

"What's weird about it?"

"Nothing, just that he signed me up too."

It was Daniel's turn to stop, cursing to himself. "Shit. If he wants to talk to us both, then it probably isn't something good."

"Like what?"

"I dunno, maybe he thinks we talk too much in class or somethin'. You can never tell with him."

"Who knows," Chris hummed, moving forward, "maybe he wants to talk about something good?"

Daniel rolled his eyes. "I doubt it."

The walk to Zidek's room was always long. In the math and science wing of Peacock High, Mr. Zidek was assigned the farthest room away from the entrance. Because of this, there was always a chill that permeated, something that many a student had complained about. Zidek always had the same response, that it was out of his control and that they should bring a coat or sweatshirt if they knew it was going to be cold.

"It's empty in here..."

"Yeah, he usually doesn't stick around after fourth period." Daniel gripped Chris' hand, squeezing it. "If he's takin' time out of his day to talk to us, then it  _ must _ be serious."

Zidek looked up from his computer and over his glasses to the two boys standing in his doorway. "Ah, Mr. Diaz, Mr. Eriksen! Just the two boys I was looking for! Please sit down, I'll need just a couple more seconds here, need to finish this email first."

A moment of silence fell upon the three as the boys sat side-by-side, waiting for Zidek. After a minute of tapping away at his keyboard, he rose from his chair with a heavy sigh, making his way over.

"Now, Zidek said, placing his glasses onto the table in front of him as he settled down, "I know what you two are probably thinking; 'what does this old dude want to talk to us so late for? Why to both of us?'"

"Not gonna lie," Daniel interrupted, nervously drumming his fingers against the table, "I was gonna ask about that."

"Yeah, I meant to talk to you both one-on-one, away from each other, but my schedule's pretty busy for the next couple of weeks, so I don't think I'll be able to fit you two in at all unless I do it this way."

"What  _ did _ you want to talk about?"

"Well, I won't beat around the bush. I called you two in here to talk to you about your plans after high school. What you want to do after you graduate in about... almost exactly a year if my math is correct."

"Man," Daniel groaned, "it's too early to be worrying about all that, Mr. Zidek."

"Daniel, you two are in your junior year. If there's any time for you to be thinking about your life outside of high school, it's  _ now _ more than ever."

"Yeah, but--"

"Actually," Chris murmured, raising his hand slightly. "I think I... kind of have an idea."

"Well," Zidek said, leaning in with his chin resting on his closed fist, "lay it on me, Mr. Eriksen. What are your plans?"

"I'm... well, I'm not  _ exactly _ set on it yet, but I was thinking of maybe... doing something with drawing... like comics?"

"I think that's a  _ wonderful _ idea, Christopher. I've seen some of your work in class -- mainly when you're supposed to be working, but we'll just ignore that for now -- and I think you're pretty good."

Chris brightened up. "Really?"

"Yeah," Zidek clasped his hands together. "I've seen lots 'n' lots of students simply doodle away at their paper, drawing eyes and such, but Chris, you have some genuine talent. I think that wherever you end up would be lucky to have you, art-related or not."

Zidek found himself lost in conversation, musing about Chris' possible future ventures. It was when he took a second, just one quick second to glance to the boy next to him that he noticed Daniel's falling face.

"Sorry to cut the conversation short, Chris, but I need to step out of the room for a second." He rose out of his chair, giving the boy next to him a look. "Daniel? Could you come out for a second? I need your help with something."

The boys shared a look of confusion. Without a word, Daniel rose from his chair, following Zidek out into the hallway.

"What'd you need help with?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to talk to you in peace, without Chris."

"Oh..."

"I'm going to be frank with you, Daniel. Do you know what you want to do after high school?"

"I, um... well, no. Not really." Daniel coughed into his fist, trying his best to look nonchalant. "Um... it kinda, well, it kinda fucks me up if I'm gonna be honest." A look of regret filled his face. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to--"

"Daniel, please. I taught a middle school class in the south for five years before transferring here. One cuss word isn't going to phase me."

"Oh... alright." Daniel found it hard to form his thoughts into words. "I don't know, I just... it makes me feel weird that everybody around me seems to have their shit all figured. And here I am, about to turn seventeen, no job, no idea what the hell I want to do with my life."

"Well, even if a good amount of your peers have ideas rattling around their heads, there are probably just as many, if not more that aren't sure either. Don't feel like you're alone, Daniel." Daniel shivered slightly, feeling Zidek's hand on his shoulder. "I know you'll do great things, whatever you plan on doing. If you still feel like that this time next year, don't be afraid to come and see me, alright?"

Daniel smiled. "Alright." Zidek's words didn't do much for him in actuality. A simple 'you can do it' speech wouldn't instantly solve all his problems -- he knew that. He knew that better than anybody else. And yet, his words did make him feel better. And even if it was just a teeny tiny little bit, Daniel thought that maybe it was all he needed.

Chris rose from his seat, watching the two enter the room again. "Did you need anything else, Mr. Zidek?"

He stroked his chin for a moment, deep in thought. "No, not that I can think of. You two are free to go, just head downstairs to the concourse until the bell dismisses you for the day."

The boy silently collected their things, making their way out of the room.

"And Daniel?"

Daniel stopped in place, tensing up. He turned, cursing to himself as the crack in his voice became evident. "Y-yes."

"Happy early birthday."

The day was finally upon them; Daniel's seventeenth birthday. It was a cold, bitter afternoon, and all the arrangements had already been made. Daniel's two closest friends -- Grace and Noah -- had been invited and were on their way. Everything was perfect. Except for one thing; the apparent lack of a certain group of people.

Daniel groaned, practically thrashing himself around on the couch. Looking up from the dishes, Esteban sighed. "What's wrong, Daniel?"

"I wish that Sean 'n' everyone was here, it would be so much better if they could come here 'n' party with us."

"Well, what did you expect, mijo? They're all in college, they can't just drop everything to come and see you whenever, as sure as I am that they do. I'm absolutely certain that they want to be here for you as much as you want them to be."

"Whatever," Daniel huffed, swaying his knees back and forth from one end of the couch to the other, "it still blows."

"Danny, I don't think you should really--"

"What? You think I'm gonna spill my drink or somethin'?"

Chris cringed, watching the open bottle of Coke between his knees with an intense stare. "I just think that you should be careful, you don't know what might--"

Daniel hissed, feeling a third party hop up onto the couch, bumping his leg. "Mushroom! Get off the damn couch!"

"Danny... your clothes."

"Huh?" He sat up in his seat, looking down. He watched as the remnants of his drinks rolled down his white shirt and onto his shorts. "Goddammit."

"I don't mean to say 'I told you so,' but..."

"Dude, shut up." With a heavy sigh, he rose from the couch. "Hey, dad?"

"Yes, mijo?"

"I'm gonna go change real quick. If Grace 'n' Noah get here while I'm gone, just let 'em in, alright?"

"Will do."

Chris entered the kitchen, watching Esteban for a moment. "You need any help with that?"

"Would you? If you don't mind, I mean."

"It's fine," Chris said, finding his place next to Esteban. "I always liked washing dishes. Lets your mind rest for a moment."

"Ain't that the truth... you know, it's funny."

"What is?"

"My boys are almost all grown up, soon enough they won't even need me anymore." He sighed, looking away for a moment. "It feels just like yesterday when he was so small, bugging Sean to play with him. Those were the days... I wish his mother was still here now."

"Daniel told me a little bit about her back in Beaver Creek."

"Really? What did he say?"

"Not much, he said he doesn't really remember her, besides... y'know."

"Yeah... he was pretty young when she... passed. She was never too keen on being a mother, you know. When we learned that she was pregnant with Sean, she completely freaked out, she immediately started talking about getting an abortion. It took me  _ hours _ to talk her out of it, to talk her into going through the full term. After the first one, you could probably imagine how hard it was to convince her to try for a second one." He laughed, a somber sound. "She came around... eventually. In all honesty, she never was that close with Sean. I've never been sure what it was, but she was never intimate with him. Daniel on the other hand, he was her pride and joy. If only she could see him now... a little rulebreaker, just like her."

"Damn," he sniffled, "I've been talking for a while huh? I'm sorry you had to stand here and listen to this old man shed a couple of tears over things he can't change."

"It's fine," Chris smiled. "I like talking to you. It feels... nice."

The ringing of the doorbell shook the two back into reality. "Oh! That's probably our guests, why don't you go let them in?"

Chris made his way to the door, opening it with a smile. "Hey there!"

Grace smiled back, her hands in her pockets. "Hey, dude."

Chris looked at her, noting the empty space next to her. "Where's Noah? I thought he was coming with you?"

"Eh, he was taking too long to come 'n' get me. Said he was having 'car troubles' when I texted him about it, so I just said 'fuck it' and walked over here instead."

"Well, he'll get here eventually." He stepped to the side, motioning to her. "Come inside."

"I think I will, thank you very much."

Entering the house, her first instinct was to lean into the counter looking into the kitchen. "Hey, Mr. Diaz! How's your night going?"

Esteban sniffled, looking back. "Oh, you know. Same old same old, prepping for the party and all that."

"Well, whatever you're cooking smells good." Chris watched as she placed... something down on the counter. An envelope? "I got Daniel's gift right here -- I couldn't remember if he wanted anything in particular, so I just gave him money instead."

Esteban nodded, smiling. "That's kind of you, Grace. I'm sure he'll appreciate it. Why don't you two wait in the living room, Daniel's still getting ready."

Settling down on the couch, Grace leaned into Chris, whispering. "So, if you don't mind me prying a bit, what did you guys get for Daniel?"

"Nothing much, really. I just planned on giving him money as well."

"Well, what about Daddy Diaz? What'd he get?"

He cringed, her nickname playing in his mind. "Ew. Don't call him that."

"What? I can't help it if he's got a hot dad."

"Grace!"

"Whatever. You didn't answer the question, what did he get Daniel?"

"From what I've seen, I think he got Daniel a boxset of those old Hawt Dawg Man cartoons you guys love so much."

Her eyes widened with excitement. "Dude, that's sick! I wish my mom got me something cool like that... all she ever gives me is these ugly socks. Look, I'm wearing a pair right now." Raising her pant leg, she revealed a singular sock, detailed with two unicorns facing each other, a rainbow shining overhead.

"It's... interesting."

"It's  _ ugly," _ she groaned, pulling her pant leg down. "Hey, I never got to ask you about the pencils I grabbed for you. How are they holding up?"

"Oh... they're actually pretty good. I haven't been able to use them much since I'm still trying to use up all my old stuff. But from what I've seen of them, they're pretty good. How did you know what to grab?"

"I dunno, I just grabbed whatever was the most expensive 'n' made a run for it. Nearly got caught by some jackoff who was  _ way _ too into watching me."

"Chris?"

He turned, looking back into the kitchen. "Yeah?"

"Daniel's taking his sweet time in there, and dinner's almost ready. Can you head in and grab him?"

"Will do!" Chris rose from the couch, making his way to the bedroom. He almost did a double-take, seeing Grace following right after him. "Oh, Grace. You don't have to, you can just sit down and wait."

"It's fine, I wanna say hi to him anyways."

Chris paused for a moment, staring at the closed door.  _ "What's taking him so long? Does it  _ seriously _ take him that long to get dressed?" _

"What're you waiting for, dude? We need to grab him for dinner, so let's get in there already."

"Wait, Grace," he began, "I don't think you should--"

He watched as, without a word, she flung the door open, barging into the room. "Heyy Daniel~!! Your daddy wants you, so finish whatever you're doing in here 'n' get out here!"

"GRACE, WHAT THE FUCK?! GET OUT!"

"C'mon, dude. I've seen your dick before, it isn't that big of a deal."

"Yeah, but it's...  _ different _ circumstances now, you can't just come in here and--"

"Too late, my guy. We're coming in here whether you like it or not." Grace flopped down onto the bed, letting out a breath of fresh air. "What's been taking you so long anyway? We were gettin' bored out there waiting for you."

Daniel squirmed, covering himself. Thankfully, he thought to himself, he had the same pair of boxer briefs on, the drink not having soaked through his clothes completely. "C'mon, dude. Can't you just leave? I'm seriously trying to get dressed here."

"Why aren't you throwing a fit over Chris being in here? He followed me in."

Daniel grew redder with every passing second. He looked to Chris for a moment before looking back to Grace. "B-because he's a dude, dude! You're a chick, it's weird!"

"Fine, if you're gonna make such a big deal out of it, I'll... cover my eyes until you decide to stop being such a baby 'n' tuck everything into your pants or somethin'. No peekin', I promise."

It took him a few minutes, but after gathering his courage to continue getting dressed in the presence of Grace, Daniel finally emerged from the bedroom, the others following closely behind.

Daniel practically died, seeing Noah stationed at a stool in the kitchen. "Holy shit, dude! It's so fuckin' good to see ya!" He pulled his friend into a hug, holding him tightly. "Bro, why didn't you stop them from creepin' into my room like that?"

"I just got here like two minutes ago, dude. Your dad let me in 'n' told me you were still getting dressed or something."

"Shit, you 'n' Grace didn't come here together?"

"Nah, had some car troubles. Old piece-a-work wouldn't startup." His eyes filled with wonder. "Oh shit, that reminds me! Hold up a second, lemme go get something real quick."

The three shared a look of confusion, watching Noah rush out of the house. Coming back inside, he held a simple white box, topped off with a stick-on bow. "Sorry, I didn't have time to properly wrap it. I just got your gift a couple of days ago."

Daniel took the box, shaking it next to his ear. "It doesn't sound like there's anything in here, dude. I swear if you got me another empty box--"

"Daniel," Esteban sighed, drying his hands off, "can't you wait to open that after dinner?"

"Come on, Mr. Diaz," Noah whined, looking over Daniel's shoulder. "It'll be quick, this is important."

Stepping into the kitchen, Daniel hunched over the counter. He ripped the bow off before sliding the top off. In the box sat three little pieces of paper.

"No way, is this actually...?"

"Yep."

"Holy  _ shit, _ you actually got tickets to PissHead?! How'd you even find these?"

"Lots 'n' lots of digging online, you won't believe the number of people who buy 'n' resell these fuckers. I was able to find someone selling three tickets for $200, cost me a couple of months worth of allowance money, but I thought it would be worth it for us to go out 'n' see them when they come out here."

"I just-- I don't know what to say. Thank you so much, dude." Daniel rounded the counter, pulling his friend into a hug.

"Geez," Noah chuckled as he patted Daniel on the back, "when'd you get so affectionate?"

Chris jumped, feeling Grace leaning into him. "Hmmph. He just had to go 'n' outshine us with his gift, huh?"

Daniel had a nice birthday. After a big dinner with an amazing cake bought from Z-Mart, the celebrations were topped off by opening the rest of Daniel's gifts; money from Chris and Grace. Letters would come the following day, Claire and Stephen were always generous with their bounties for the Diaz children.

The night ended with the crew huddled into the living room, eyes fixated on the TV screen. Chris looked away for a moment -- the box-set of old Hawt Dawg Man cartoons that Esteban had gifted to Daniel playing -- sensing Daniel nudging him with the bowl. "What do you want me to do with this?"

"Can you refill it? We need more popcorn."

"What? No, dude. You're the one who ate most of it, you can go refill it yourself."

"C'mon," Daniel whined, pouting his lips, "it's my birthday. You  _ have _ to."

"I--" Chris groaned, lifting himself from the couch. "Fine, but I'm not getting back up after this."

Grace looked away from the screen. "Wait, if you're getting up, can you grab my water bottle? It's on the counter over there."

"And grab me a can of something from the fridge!"

"Jesus," he grumbled, making his way to the kitchen, "anything else? We don't even have any cans in the fridge..."

_ "Popcorn... again. Great." _ Chris tore the packaging off the bag, placing it into the microwave. Pushing the buttons, he collected everything else he needed; Grace's water bottle & a bottle of Coke for Noah.  _ "Shoot," _ he thought to himself,  _ "does Daniel want it overcooked, or does he want me to take it out at a specific time?" _

Leaning over the counter, he looked to Daniel. "Hey, do you--"

He stopped, watching the two sit together on the couch. She raised her head from Daniel's shoulder, bringing her face directly to his ear. She whispered something to him, eliciting a curt laugh from Daniel as he pushed her away playfully.

Chris' stomach dropped. Looking back on it, Chris thought that the sight of Daniel's head in her lap that night should've been the first red flag. No, he thought. The way she hugged him ever-so-tightly the first day of school during their reunion, the way her touch lingered that cold December morning. Her comments about seeing him, all of him. The implications of their situation being 'different,' according to Daniel. The way her eyes shined in that familiar way every time she looked at him.

Chris had to end this, whatever had happened between the two before Daniel had met him, and he had to end it now.

Chris made his way over to the couch, leaning in between the two. "Hey, Daniel," he said, trying his best to sound like he wasn't on the verge of a nervous breakdown, "could you come over here for a second? I need your help with the microwave." That was a lie. The microwave was working just fine, it had cooked the popcorn as it should've -- Chris decided to take it out early, as to avoid burning it.

"The microwave? Don't you know how to use it? I thought we showed you..." He looked up at Chris, leaning against the back of the couch. "Can't it wait? This is, like, my favorite episode."

"I just...  _ really _ need your help with it."

"If it's broken, I'll just tell dad in the morning, alright?"

"I-- yeah, whatever. It's fine." He walked back into the kitchen to collect their things, the pit in his stomach found itself hard to sate as he heard Grace giggle as she ran her hand over Daniel's freshly-shaved head. Chris couldn't hear what she was saying, he didn't care.

The party turned into a sleepover, the night was too dark for the two to go home on their own. Daniel led his guests to their room for the night; Sean's.

Noah opened the door, cautiously looking around. "You sure your bro would be fine with us in his room like this?"

"Yeah, you know Sean. He's chill... except when he isn't. Y'know what, what he doesn't know won't hurt him, right?"

"C'mon, Noah. Just get in there already, I'm tired." Grace pushed the boy in, beginning to close the door behind them. She looked out, staring at Daniel for a moment. "Goodnight, Daniel~."

"G'night, Grace."

Daniel closed the door behind him, entering his room. Chris was already sitting in bed -- he had turned in ten minutes earlier, saying that he 'felt tired.' "Hey."

Chris looked up, his sketchbook gripped tightly in his hands. "Oh. Hi."

Daniel plopped down next to him, wrapping his arms around the boy as he showered him in kisses. "Thanks for such a great party, dude."

"Daniel," Chris whined, squirming under his boyfriend's touch, "can we--"

"What? You actin' all needy now?"

"What?! No, I--" Chris sputtered, his face burning bright. "I want to talk. Seriously."

"'Kay," Daniel said, parting as he found his own space on the bed. "Whatcha wanna talk about?"

"I don't know how else to say it, to be honest... when I was getting more popcorn and drinks, I--"

"Is this about the microwave? I already told you, I'll tell dad about it later. Look, if it's worrying you  _ that _ badly, I'll shoot him a text right now. Hopefully, he'll see it when he gets up."

"The microwave is fine, goddamnit. I need to talk to you about Grace."

"Grace?" He thought for a second, trying to remember if she had done anything that might have offended Chris during the day. "What's up with Grace?"

"She's fine, really. She's cool, it's just that... I don't really like it when she gets all touchy-feely with you. Like, when she was leaning on you, touching you, whispering in your ear. It makes me feel... I don't know. Like she's trying to get with you or something."

"Nah man, you got it all wrong. Me 'n' her are close like that. We've been friends since middle school, remember? She's like a sister to me at this point."

It should have been that easy. Chris hoped that it could have. But despite Daniel's affirmations, something didn't sit right with him. The more he thought about it, his belly did flip flops. "But what about when she said she's... seen you before?"

"What?"

"Like, she said she's seen your dick before. What's up with that?"

"I don't know, man. We... kinda hooked up back in freshman year."

"...What?"

"Yeah, me 'n' her have been real close for years, 'n' everyone already thought we were a couple because of it. So, we thought 'fuck it, might as well get together at least once.' It was just that; a one-time thing. Nothing less, nothing more."

"But, Danny... what if she thinks it  _ is _ something more?"

"I'm sure she doesn't, she's not--"

"Danny. I've seen the way she looks at you. She's in deep, dude."

"...Well, I-- shit. I guess if it's bothering you like that, maybe I could... fuck, I don't know. Talk to her in the morning? Set shit straight with her?"

Chris smiled, moving closer to Daniel. "That's all I want, Danny. I don't want this to ruin our friendship, I do like her. I really, really do. She's cool, she reminds me a lot of you when we first met. I just... don't want to feel like I'm fighting with her over you, alright?"

"Yeah," Daniel sighed, "I get what you mean." Taking Chris by surprise, Daniel took him in his arms, laying down on the bed with him. "Let's just... go to bed, we'll deal with this in the morning."

The morning was mundane. After eating breakfast in front of the TV, cooked by Esteban, they were put in charge of cleaning up.

"I'm heading out, I need to run a couple of errands. Maybe when I get back, we can go out and see a movie, I heard that they've got a couple of good ones in the theatre right now."

"Will do, dad. See you later." Daniel watched his father leave through the basement door. Taking a deep breath, he walked into the kitchen.  _ "C'mon, Daniel. Get your shit together, it's just one talk. What's so bad about that?" _

"Hey, Grace?"

Grace looked up from the sink, already hard at work. "Yeah?"

"Can you come outside for a second? I need to talk to you about something."

"Dude," Noah whined, standing next to Grace. "I know you're not trying to get out of work. Get your ass over here 'n' take a plate and a sponge."

"It'll be quick, dude. Chill out. Me 'n' her just need to talk for a couple of minutes at the absolute most."

Grace looked to Noah before dropping the plate into the water, drying her hands off on her shirt. "Alright, I'm good to go."

"Right." Daniel patted Chris on the shoulder as he passed by, opening the door and stepping into the outside.

Grace shivered, hugging herself tightly. "Jesus, it's fuckin' cold out this morning."

"Hey, Grace," Daniel murmured, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, "can we sit down for a second?"

"Alright." With a  _ thud, _ she slumped down onto the porch, staring out into the quiet, empty neighborhood for a moment before looking back at Daniel. "Well? Aren't you gonna sit down too?"

"Oh, right. Sorry." Daniel found his place next to her, trying his best to find a position that wasn't too close, yet too far away.

"So," she asked, looking back at Daniel, "what did you want to talk about?"

"So, you know how... shit, this is awkward, I--"

"No," Grace cooed, placing her hand over Daniel's, "take your time. I'm listening."

"Right," as stealthily as he could, he slipped his hand from under Grace's. He coughed into his fist, clearing his throat for a moment before continuing. "So you know how we're... real close, right?"

"Yeah, we've been friends for a while."

"And you know how we... kinda hooked up a couple of years ago?"

"Oh, is  _ that _ what you wanted to talk about?" She scooted closer, leaning into Daniel. "Why do you wanna...?"

Daniel shifted in his seat, chuckling dryly. "As flattered as I am, no. Not really."

"Oh. Then what're you trying to get at?"

"Well, see... Chris told me that he's been seeing you touching me 'n' looking at me with big ole puppy eyes, 'n' he's like,  _ really _ uncomfortable with it."

"What? What's his business who I'm looking at?"

"Shit, that's the thing. Me 'n' him are... kinda together now."

Her eyes widened. "Oh.  _ Oh. _ Is that why you were fine with him coming into your room?"

"I mean, yeah. It's his room too, y'know. Plus, we've already--"

"You have not."

"Mmhmm, I have."

"Daniel! You dirty dog!" She cackled, slapping his shoulder. "Jesus, when'd you manage that? I woulda thought your dad would've caught you like he did with us."

"Nah, it wasn't here. We got together back when I was shacked up in Beaver Creek."

"Shit," Grace cursed, looking off into the neighborhood again. "You've got a lot to tell me about your time in Beaver Creek, I guess. If you want to still be friends, I mean."

"What? Why wouldn't I wanna be friends with you?"

"I dunno, to defend your boyfriend's honor or some shit? I practically tried to steal him out from under him. That's, like, some shit they'd fight to the death over in the medieval days or somethin'."

"Jesus, Grace. It ain't that serious. If you  _ really _ want to make it up to him, maybe... apologize directly to him or somethin'. I'm certain that he won't hold it against you, he's a pretty cool guy."

Grace giggled. "Yeah, despite being a goody-two-shoes."

"Yeah," Daniel simpered, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "A goody-two-shoes."

“You guys!” They jumped as Noah surged through the front door, his eyes crazed and wild. “They’re airing a teaser trailer for a new Hawt Dawg Man movie! You’ve gotta get in here ‘n’ see this shit!”

“Fuck, really?” With the speed of an Olympic athlete, Daniel rose from his seat, rushing inside. “If I miss this--”

“Wait… what were you two just talkin’ about out here?”

Grace chuckled, getting back up on her feet. She patted his cheek as she passed by. “Nothin’, we’re all good here.”

_ Don't get green skin, keep contact _

_ Don't say, "Goodbye, smell you later" _

_ Nah, I can't _

_ I don't want to end this season on a bad episode, nah _

_ Bouncing off things and you don't know how you fall _

_ Your power is drained, so you cannot go through walls _

_ You're caught in this matrix, don't know where you play it _

_ You hate it, it could be your favorite if you make it your friend _

_ (Friends) _

_ Are we still friends? (This can't end) _

_ Are we still friends? (I still wanna say hi) _

_ Are we, are we, are we, are we still friends? _

_ Can't say goodbye _

_ Can't say goodbye, goodbye _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [ARE WE STILL FRIENDS?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gb76TgCUqAY) // Tyler, the Creator  
> [Spotify Playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/57WdUoSVi9lxzOynxyEQ95?si=_UY21RjwR8aThw-6b2izOw)
> 
> Hey all! We’re almost at the end of After the Storm and the Spirit Squad’s story, how are we feeling?
> 
> Fair warning; the final chapter will take another month or two to get through, depending on just how quickly I can get through with writing. School is still beating my ass and it’s hard to find time to write. With a computer of my own finally, I hope that I can become more efficient and release stuff on a quicker basis. Just know that like the rest of the chapters beforehand, I’ll be posting it whenever it’s ready!
> 
> Happy New Year’s everyone~!!
> 
> In the meanwhile, keep up with me outside of writing! Come say hi, have a laugh, feel free to talk to me about whatever!  
> [Tumblr](https://apotofstu.tumblr.com)  
> [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/marcasshole/)  
> [Twitter (Writing)](https://twitter.com/MarcusBWriting)


	4. summer.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Chris and Daniel have some fun in the sun, make changes, go to their first concert together, party, decide their futures, and make amends.
> 
> Word Count: 13.8k

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> C.W. - Brief vomit/emeto mention, along with one usage of homophobic slurs. Nothing too graphic, but they’re there.  
> Know your limits, take care of yourself. <3
> 
> At the end of the story, there's some shoutouts to some people who were _very_ important to me and my writing process during the creation of the story. To see those, please read until the very end~!!
> 
> Now, without further-ado, let’s get this final chapter rolling…

Sean huffed, stomping to the bathroom door. "C'mon, enano, we're all waiting on you out here!"

He could hear Daniel curse from the inside before coming up to the door. "Just a few more minutes, dude! I still gotta see which shorts I wanna wear!"

"Whatever," Sean groaned, "just be quick, we aren't gonna wait for you out here all day."

"I swear, if you leave me, I'll--"

Sean didn't hear the rest of Daniel's empty threat, settling down on the back of the couch not long after buggering him to hurry up. He turned, feeling Chris' hair brush past his arm as he turned his head to look up at Sean.

"Does he usually take this long to get ready? He's never been like this back home."

"Not really," Sean sighed, looking down at the blond-haired boy for a moment before returning his gaze to the bathroom door, closed tightly and locked from the inside. "It all depends. Like, this one time--"

"Depends on _what?_ What are we talking about up here?"

None of them had to take a look at Esteban to know he was hard at work in the garage -- his shirt caked in motor oil and grease. The smell of it alone wafted through the room as he made his way up the stairs.

"Nothing, dad. Just waiting for Daniel to get his ass in gear is all. We're all waiting for him out here."

Esteban looked the group over. Sean & Co. stood grouped in the Diaz family's living room, school out for them as well as the young boys. "Thank you for agreeing to take them with you, mijo. I know I promised them that I'd go with them instead, but work's been hectic lately. I do appreciate it."

"It's no big deal, dad. We were planning on heading out there sometime this week anyway, so we thought that it wouldn't hurt to go a little bit earlier with these two."

"Alright, I'm ready to go!" All eyes shifted to the boy emerging from the bathroom, donning his red swimming shorts. "What's with the faces? What're we talking about?"

"We were talking about _you,_ little dude. But you just had to come out early and spoil the whole conversation."

Daniel rolled his eyes, listening to the sounds of laughter break out amongst the group. "Haha, very funny." With his father's gaze averted, Daniel made sure to show his 'appreciation' for Penny's joke with one finger, the tongue hanging from his mouth punctuating his message.

"Well," Finn began as he rose from his seat on the couch, patting the shoulder of the colorful-haired woman next to him, "we ready to go?"

Cassidy flinched under his touch, pulling away. "Don't touch me, asshole."

"What? You're seriously _still_ mad at me?"

"Yes, you spilled coffee all over my fucking notes for class. You cannot even imagine how hard it was to convince the professor to let it slide, the old goat."

"Come on," Hannah groaned, already at the door, "the whole pool's going to be filled up by the time we get there if we keep arguing like this."

"You don't mean to tell me that you think the whole town got wiped out because of... the supernatural?"

"Yeah? See, Jake, you have to look at the big picture. How does a whole town just get destroyed like that out of nowhere without there being something not of our world going on?"

"But didn't they have a lot of other weird stuff going on? It was just another freak accident. Easily explained away by--"

Chris stopped in place, finding himself buried deep in his thoughts. It only took him mere seconds to be shaken back into the real world -- feeling the shorter woman run into him from behind. He turned, feeling a pit form in his stomach as he looked Hannah down. "Sh-shoot! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to--"

"It's fine, dude. What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just that... aren't we going to wait for Lyla? She isn't here yet."

"Nah, man." Chris turned, watching Sean stick his head through the truck's window. "She texted me a couple of hours ago, she's planning on meeting us there."

"Yeah," Hannah snorted, "so maybe we should get going instead of standing around and talking."

"Right... sorry again."

It was a swelteringly hot day in Seattle. Chris groaned, settling down in the truck bed next to Daniel.

He looked Chris over for a minute, watching his body go rigid as he sat, nervously twiddling his thumbs together. "You nervous or somethin', dude?"

Chris looked up, embarrassment washing over his face. "Huh? No, I'm-- everything's fine."

"Well, you don't _look_ fine, dude. What? Your first time riding in the back of a truck?"

"...Maybe," Chris murmured, wincing at the heat of the rusty red metal as he tried to grip onto the side of the truck.

"Well," Daniel assured him, curling his fingers through Chris', "no need to be afraid, y'ain't alone back here. I'm with you, 'n' so is everyone else. I'll even fall out the back with you if that's your biggest fear."

Chris giggled, feeling Daniel's volley of small pecks cover the side of his face. "Whatever, dude." He parted, feeling more comfortable in the back of the truck, Daniel's words running laps in his brain. "You know... despite that hard exterior you put on all the time, you're kinda sweet... and corny."

Daniel's face fell. "Corny?! Says you, you're the one who tattooed a fucking heart on my wrist. If that _isn't_ corny, then I don't know what is." He frowned, watching as his boyfriend laughed at his offense. "Well, whatever, if that's the thanks I'm gettin' for trying to be a good boyfriend, then fuck me, I guess." He punctuated his feigned irritation with a heavy, defiant exhale from his nose. "Anyways, nothin' is going happen to you... unless Dopey upfront forgets how to drive properly.

"Hey," Finn hollered from inside the truck, "I heard that!"

The trip to the local pool was nothing short of intriguing. Sitting next to Daniel, surrounded by the likes of Cass, Hannah, Penny, and Jacob, there was much talk to be had amongst the seven. From Penny's conspiracy theories to Cassidy's idle conversation about what type of music everybody likes, there wasn't a dull moment to be had when hanging out with Sean and Finn's friends.

Driving over all sorts of potholes and speed bumps that Chris had lost count of over their short drive, the crew had finally found their way to their destination. Peering through the parking lot, packed to the brim with all sorts of cars, Chris noticed one figure sitting alone. _"Did Lyla already get here?"_

"Lyla! Hey, Lyla!"

As they climbed out of the truck, stepping closer and closer to her, Chris could see her splayed out on a beach towel draped over the hood of the car. _"Hot outside today, I don't blame her one bit."_

She sat up, snatching the sunglasses from her face to get a better look at the group. "Jesus, what took you guys so long? I've been waiting here for ten minutes now."

"We would've been 'ere sooner," Cassidy began in her usual drawl, "but Daniel sure took his sweet time gettin' ready."

Lyla laughed. "Oh yeah?" In one motion, she jumped from the hood of her car, taking her towel from underneath her. "Why? He still trying to impress me after all these years?"

Chris looked over, watching Daniel burn red as the crowd around him laughed.

"You're never gonna let that go, are you?"

"Nope." She turned in place, making her way towards the building. "Alright, since we're all here now, we best get going."

Chris flinched, feeling Finn's hand patting his back. He looked over, hugging the sketchbook in his hands tightly to his chest. "Yeah...?"

"Shit, lil' man, did I scare you? I didn't mean too..."

"No," Chris said, looking straight as they followed Lyla through the building. "Was there something you wanted?"

"It's just that I noticed you tend to keep that lil' sketchbook Sean got you pretty close to your hip."

"Yeah... it's a pretty cool gift."

"Whatcha even bring it for, if you don't mind me askin'? You planning on doodling the whole day away while everyone else is havin' fun in the pool?"

"Maybe, you never know when inspiration will come."

"Geez," Finn sighed, rolling his neck, "you sound an awful lot like Sean when you say shit like that. No offense, just that I get a lil' lost when he starts talkin' about that sort of stuff."

"No, it's fine. I don't take any offense to it. It does sound pretty intense when you--"

"Hey," Cassidy said, interrupting the two's conversation, "we're here now, you two gonna quit yapping or what?"

Chris was taken aback by the number of people that filled the pool. Sure, he had seen the sea of cars out front, but he had never imagined that there would be as many people as there was today. He leaned into Daniel, whispering. "Pretty packed, huh?"

"Yeah," Daniel clicked his tongue, looking over the pool for himself. "Guess everyone else had the same idea as us today."

"Well," Lyla began, grabbing the group's attention, "aren't we getting in the pool? It's too hot to be standing around here." Shrugging her shoulders, Lyla's robe slipped down onto the floor, finding itself pressed up to the wall with a light kick.

"Damn, Lyla," Finn chuckled. "If I weren't a better man, I would've thought you were just tryin' to steal my hubby back out from under me."

Sean's face fell, listening to Lyla break into laughter. Delivering a swift chop to Finn's chest, he cursed. "Dude, shut up."

"Whatever," he wheezed out, doubled over in pain, "doesn't make it any less true."

"Hey, where'd Daniel get at?"

The question didn't take long to be answered, the crew screamed out as in quick succession, Daniel ran from far off into the pool atrium, dodging and weaving between all sorts of patrons entering and exiting, finally diving into the pool with a big splash.

They all stood in silence, water dripping onto the floor. Jumping in shortly after, Lyla thrust her arms, sending a wave of chlorinated water into the young man's face. "Take _that,_ asshole!"

The crew dispersed through the atrium, going about their fun-in-the-sun in several ways. Lyla and Sean engaged in a deep, heated battle of strength and will in the water against Daniel, throwing water at each other with all their heart's content, Finn watching idly as he sat on the edge of the pool, kicking his feet idly, whistling to himself and thinking about... _whatever_ Finn usually thought about.

Across the pool on the deep end, Hannah laid on her black, breathing deeply as she focused her mind on the moment at hand. It would have been an enjoyable moment, if it weren't for Cassidy emerging from the water, scaring the living shit out of her. And as for Jacob and Penny had decided to ditch the other's plans, continuing their conversation from earlier as they walked laps around the pool together. From what Chris could see, it looks like they were getting into it, conversing about all sorts of conspiracy theories and possible reasonings for the disappearance of a whole town overnight.

Chris had learned from Sean over these first few weeks of the summer how to _really_ take in his environment while sketching. Finding himself deep in his head at the moment, Chris made sure to get every detail. The water flying in the air as it rained down on Daniel, Finn treading water ever-so-gently, Penny and Jacob looking down into the pool as they talked with Cassidy and Hannah.

"Hey, whatcha doing over here all alone?"

Chris nearly jumped from his skin. Lyla had come from nowhere -- one minute, she paraded around the pool, throwing chlorinated water into Daniel's face. The next, she snuck her way next to him, her back leaning against the wall. He cleared his throat. "Nothing much, just doing some drawing."

She looked at the book in his hands for a moment. "That's the sketchbook that Sean got you for Christmas, right?"

"Yeah... how'd you know about it?"

"Facebook. Plus, Sean and I have been friends for years, we're real close."

"Kinda like Grace and Danny...?"

"Yeah, kind of. How is Grace, by the way? I haven't heard from her in a while, last time I saw her she was fooling around with Daniel."

Chris sighed. "Geez, did _everyone_ know about them being together except me?"

"I mean, yeah. It's not really hard to see, dude. They've always been friendly with so each other. I'm guessing they're not on good terms anymore, since you and Daniel are, like, a thing now, huh?"

"Nah, Grace is still good friends with him. We all hung out a couple of days ago, actually. We went to go see that new movie... what was it called? At the Witching Hour, They Destroy?"

"Seriously? You guys like B-movies and all that shit?" She made a sound of disgust before breaking into laughter. "Whatcha drawing anyways?"

"Nothing much, just--"

"You mind if I look? Just asking first in case, Sean used to _hate_ it when I grabbed his shit from him."

"No, it's fine," he said, handing her the book. "You can look if you want."

"Hold on a second." Chris shifted in his seat, watching as Lyla paced a few feet to the left of where they had sat, rummaging through her back for a moment before finding what she had been looking for her; her towel, the same one she had lied on from earlier in the day. "Sorry," she explained, wringing her hands dry, "just don't wanna ruin the pages with wet hands."

Chris leaned over her shoulder, watching her pace slowly through every page, inspecting every detail of every drawing, sketch, doodle, and scribble. Without a word, Lyla handed the book back to him.

"So," he asked, feeling the familiar pang of anxiety well up low in his belly, "what'd you think?"

Lyla turned to him, stretching her legs out as she placed her back against the wall. "Pretty good, in my opinion."

"You think so?"

"Yeah. It reminds me _a lot_ of Sean's old little doodles. You're really good, Chris."

He smiled, feeling the blood flush to his face. "Thanks, Lyla."

"No problem, dude." Standing up, she looked back down to the boy. "Now c'mon and join us, dude. A little water ain't going to kill you."

"Yeah," Chris groaned, placing his sketchbook next to his side, stretching himself out, "I guess you aren't wrong."

"Hell yeah, I'm not." She slipped back into the pool, hissing at the bombardment of water that had already begun its way towards her. "No fair, dude! I just got back in!"

Chris sighed, getting up from the ground. He stood for a moment, the cool concrete under his feet serving as a much-needed break from the burning heat that encompassed the day.

"Hey, Chris!"

He turned, watching as Daniel danced around in waist-deep water. "Get in here, you've gotta come 'n' help me beat the shit outta these two!"

"I'm coming!" He made his way to the shallow side of the pool, his feet pattering against the concrete.

"Hey, hey kid!"

He froze.

"No running in the pool!" The man groaned, muttering to himself. "I don't know how many times I have to tell these damn kids..."

"I'm sorry," he began as he turned, making his way to the highchair. "I was just... just..."

The man stared down at him, a look of surprise on his face. Sure, the lighting was different from when they had first met, but after the day they shared in the car on that cold October afternoon, driving to that hospital for hours, Chris could never forget his face. Elijah leaned into the boy, resting himself against the arm of the chair. "Hey, little man! What're you doing here?"

"I'm just here with some friends, you know. Why are _you_ here? I thought you were working as a tour guide?"

"Yeah," Elijah groaned, rolling his eyes, "were being the keyword there."

"What do you mean? What happened?"

"Well, after what happened with your friend back then, my supervisor wouldn't stop chewing my ass out for _weeks._ I got sick of it, so I just decided 'you know what, fuck this, I'm outta here' and walked straight out. My friend -- the other guide, Cliff -- you remember him, right?"

Chris grimaced, remembering the man's tight, clammy hand gripping his wrist. "Yeah... what about him?"

"Well, by your face, I can tell you two probably didn't get off on the best foot. But if you look past that, he's a pretty cool dude. Knew him back in high school, really loyal. So when I told him I quit, he followed after me. We got a job here together, and it's been smooth sailing ever since." He looked around for a moment, clearly thinking. "Speaking of friends... where's your buddy? How's his arm going?"

Chris peered over his shoulder, watching as Daniel waded through the water, covering himself up as his brother sent a tidal wave flying at him. "He's doing better. _Way_ better. Thanks again, by the way. I know that it was a weird situation to put you in, plus making your boss get mad at you over our mistake. But I think he and I can both agree that we really appreciate you helping us back then."

"No problem, dude. It's the least I could've done, you two were under my watch and I let him get hurt." With a sigh, Elijah leaned back against his high chair. "Well, I've taken up plenty of your time. I'm sure your friend is wondering what's taking you so long, so I'll let you be. Don't be a stranger, man. Say hi if you see me around. If you come back here this summer, I mean."

Chris nodded. "I won't, don't worry." Slumping down onto his behind, Chris slipped into the pool, making his way next to Daniel.

"Alright, what did you want?"

"Well, Captain Spirit," he began, making gestures with his hands as the two ahead of them began to close in. "I'm officially conscripting you to join me in a battle against El Diazblo Loco and the heinous Love Witch."

"...What?"

Daniel hissed, feeling the water descending on the two of them. "There's no time! C'mon, you gotta help me!"

"I, um... sure. Whatever you say, uh... Superwolf."

"That's more like it, now c'mon!"

***

Daniel paced around his room, running his hands through his hair. It hit him hard, Grace telling him that she had changed her mind, that she didn't want to head out to the PissHead concert with them. "What do you mean you 'don't wanna go?' Grace, we've been planning this out for months!"

"I don't know what to tell ya, man. I'm just... not into all that punk rock shit. I don't like the sound."

Noah groaned, clasping his face tightly in his hands. "Why didn't you tell us sooner? The concert is literally _tonight,_ dude."

"How many times do I have to say I'm sorry? Shit, I never agreed to go with you guys anyways."

Daniel sat down next to Chris, hunching into himself. "Shit... who could we get to come with us last minute?"

"Why's it such an issue anyways, dude? You've got one less person going, big deal."

Chris cringed, watching Noah's cold stare turn back on Grace. He looked as if he could turn her to ice right then and there. "Yes, big fuckin' deal! If _someone_ doesn't come with us, this would have been a _huge_ waste of my goddamn money!"

"Well... any ideas?"

Noah huffed, turning back to Daniel. "I don't know... Benjamin could be a good investment?"

Daniel clicked his tongue. "I don't know. He's kinda... weird, don't y'think?"

"Whaddya mean?"

"Like... I don't know, man. He just seems kinda intense sometimes. If shit gets crazy while we're there, he might get _too_ into it or something. Don't want to have to bail his ass outta the slammer or somethin'."

"Shit," Noah cursed, "I guess you're right." He thought for a moment, a figurative lightbulb going off over his head. "What about that cute girl that lives in the next town over that hung out with us that one time? She's one of your brother's friend's little sister -- what's her name? Sammy...? Sandra...?"

"You mean Sarah Lee?"

"Yeah, her!"

"Nah, definitely not. Nothing against her, I mean. She's real sweet, it's just that she might be... too sweet."

"Explain?"

"Like, her parents raised her ultra-Christian 'n' all that. If we took her out to a concert like that, she'd probably die on the spot."

"Goddamn, I-- fine. Then we can... fuck... we can go, just the two of us, I guess."

"Well, hold on a second," Daniel cried out, grabbing the thigh of the boy next to him. "What about Chris here?"

Noah gave Chris one look before returning his eyes to Daniel. "...You're serious? You want him to come along? Him? And not that Sarah Lee chick?"

"Of course! He's been sitting here this whole time while we've been talking, I was startin' to feel a little bad. I just thought--"

"But _why?_ No offense, dude," Noah began, giving Chris the once-over a second time, "but he doesn't seem the type to enjoy that kinda scene. I mean, do you even like punk music 'n' all that?"

"I mean," Chris mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck, "I don't _don't_ like it. I'll listen to it when Daniel has it playing in the morning on the drive to school every morning."

"See," Daniel exclaimed, "we've got our answer, dude. It won't kill you to have him tag along, right? You'll get your money's worth, dude~!"

He sighed. "I guess you're right. If it's fine with him, he can come along."

"Well," Grace chirped, prancing around the room, "now that you got _that_ whole nightmare figured out, I would like to know; what are you guys gonna wear to the show?"

"Why do _you_ care? You aren't even going.

Grace rolled her eyes. "Well, fuck me for asking, I guess I just wanted to know."

"Whatever. If you want to know _so_ badly, I've got something in my car, I'll just change in the parking lot before we get in."

"Alright... what about you, Daniel?"

"I was just thinking of wearing what I'm wearing right now. It's comfortable, and--"

"You're joking, right?"

"...What? Why would I be joking?"

"No reason, it's just that--"

"Just _what?_ What're you trying to get at?"

"Just that your outfit looks a little dorky, that's all."

"Dorky?! What in the fuck are you talking about, dude?"

"You're seriously thinking of going to a punk concert in a Hawt Dawg Man shirt and some sweatpants?"

"Fuck you, what does it matter if I'm wearing my Hawt Dawg Man shirt?"

"You're gonna look like a clown, dude."

"Well, alright then. If you're _so_ fuckin' enlightened about my choice of clothes, then what, pray tell, the fuck do you think I should be wearing?"

Grace chuckled. "I'm so glad you asked..."

After their drive in the dark, the bright fluorescent lights were near-blinding. It was Grace's idea, as usual. With a heavy grunt, she dragged the taller boy into the store by his arm, his feet dragging along the way.

"Alright," Grace grinned, nudging Daniel, "you ready to get your own Grace-special makeover?"

"I'm telling you," Daniel said, squirming under her grip, "this is a _huge_ waste of our time. We could've been to the venue early and--"

"Dude, just... just hush. I need to get my brain a-workin' for finding you some new shit."

"Well," he continued, yanking his wrist from her hand, "if I have to get a new look, isn't it fair for Chris to get one too?"

Grace glanced at Chris. "Nah, I think he's fine."

"Seriously? My comfy clothes were a problem, but his lil' fleece sweater ain't?" Chris shifted in place, looking over to one of the mirrors by the entrance of the store. He had dressed in a white fleece sweater over a regular pair of blue jeans and his new shoes. An outfit perfect for a night in -- what Chris had thought he was having to begin with.

Grace clicked her tongue. "Fleece is cute, man. What else can I say?."

"But Hawt Dawg Man--"

"Now that you say it..." she interrupted him, stepping closer to Chris. Leaning into the boy, she studied his face for a moment. "I think we could do something with this..."

"Grace, what're you--"

"Quiet, man." Quietly, she looked up at Chris. "How do you feel about getting a piercing?"

Daniel's face fell. "Now hold on a minute, Grace. I was only half-serious about him doing something too, but this is too far."

"Well, let's ask him what _he_ thinks, dude." Wrapping her arm around Chris's shoulders, she leaned into him, asking one more time. "You into getting a piercing tonight?"

"I, uh..." Chris tried looking over to Daniel, staring back into Grace's eyes as she obscured his view.

"Hey! Don't even think of looking at him, mister. It's your choice and your choice only."

"I mean..." Chris began, thinking it over for a moment, "it probably wouldn't hurt _too_ bad..."

"'Atta boy!"

"Jesus," Daniel groaned, "you two can't _actually_ be serious."

Grace rolled her eyes. "You're the one who brought up the idea, dude."

"Yeah," he said, "as a _joke,_ goddammit. Fuck, my dad is gonna kill us..." Making his way to his boyfriend, he linked their arms together. "If you two are serious about this, then let's--"

"Where do _you_ think you're going, mister? You're still gonna get your outfit with me." Motioning over to the boy nose-deep in the sales rack, she continued, "Noah can take 'im to get what he needs, then we can meet back here afterward when the deed is done."

"Huh?" Noah looked up, staring back at the three. "I have to take him?"

"Yeah, me 'n' Daniel are gonna do a little shopping."

Whining, he made his way back to the group. "But I wanted to look at clothes myself..."

"I'll come with you here tomorrow, my treat."

"Whatever you say, Grace." He motioned towards Chris, making his way out of the thrift store. "Let's get goin', we only got so much time before the concert begins."

Chris followed Noah closely, the two boys making their way through the downtown area. Looking back, Noah spit. "Shouldn't be too far, I think if we go fast enough we'll be able to beat the closing time."

"So," Chris huffed, trying his best to keep up with Noah's brisk pace, "how long have you been friends with Danny?"

"Shit," Noah said, thinking for a moment. "For a long time, longer than Grace for sure. We've been friends since... shit, maybe second grade?" Grinning, Noah thought back on those days. "We'd always fuck around here downtown -- laser tag, staying up past our bedtimes watching movies we shouldn't have been watching 'n' all that. Y'know, the good stuff."

"Yeah," Chris hummed, keeping to Noah's side, apologizing with every person he bumped into.

"You ever do anything like that with him back in your hometown? I know he told me there wasn't much since it was a small town, but you had to have done something fun, right?"

"Uh... actually, it was kind of the same as you mentioned."

"Really?"

"Yeah, we watched _a bunch_ of movies together. Like, we watched this one really cool, weird robot movie, and--"

"You mean _Evangelion?!_ Fuck, I thought he told me he wasn't gonna rewatch that without me...!" He huffed, stopping in place. "Shit, I think we're here."

Chris looked up, squinting his eyes as the eye-straining fluorescent sign made it hard to see anything. "You sure?"

"Yeah, I think so. I think this is where Daniel dragged me to get _his_ first piercing." He pulled the door open, a soft, enticing _ring_ jingling through the busy streets of Seattle's nightlife. "Alright, here goes nothing..."

With the door to the parlor shutting slowly behind them, Chris and Noah stood idly in the lobby. After waiting for a couple of minutes to no answer, Noah became impatient, pecking away at the bell on the front desk.

A man, not much older than the two boys emerged from the backroom. "Hey man, I know that it sucks to hear, but we're about to close for the night. Come by tomorrow and maybe we'll--"

"What? That's the way you greet a friend?"

The man's eyes went wide. "Oh, Noah! It's nice to see ya, man. I don't have the money I owe you yet, I get paid soon, so you can get back to me later, alright?"

"Forget that, dude. I was here with my friend hoping to get a piercing, but I can see that it's a bad time."

"Nah man, it's fine. What will two more jobs for my friend do to me, right?"

"Huh? Oh, no," Noah explained, gesturing to Chris, "nothing for me, just this one right here." Chris stood awkwardly. He knew just by the look the man gave him, with his tattoos and piercings galore, that he could tell he was a newbie. Fresh meat. Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes yet again.

"Well then, what were you thinking?"

"I, uh... don't know, really. What's, like, your recommendation?"

"Well," the man rose from his seat, leaning into Chris, "I think that for you... a nostril piercing would probably be a good investment. What do you think?"

"I... sure."

"Great, follow me, let's get you situated."

"So, Dax! How was your day today?"

The man sighed, stretching his arms as the three walked through a long, narrow hall. "Man, it was fuckin' _long._ You have no clue how uncomfortable is to do this shit for some of these people in town. Fuckin' weirdos man, I tell you."

Noah laughed. "Yeah, I hear ya'. Especially here downtown."

"Hey," Dax exclaimed, making his way into another small room, "right through here, man."

Chris stood still for a moment. "So where do I...?"

Pointing to the chair in the middle, Dax made his way around the room. "Just settle down, I need to collect everything for your lil' job."

Chris made his way into the chair, the warm weather settling to his form as he sat anxiously. He turned, watching Noah look back at him from his phone.

"Don't mind me, man. Just checkin' in with updates on the show, seeing how Grace is doing 'n' the sorts."

Chris heard Dax call out. "Good ol' Grace! She still doin' good?"

"Yeah, doing fine. And out of your league, so don't even try it."

"Aw, c'mon man. You don't gotta be like that..."

After a passing moment of silence, Dax continued the conversation. "So," he hummed, rinsing his hands under the sink, "I'm guessin' this is your first time getting a piercing?"

"Yeah, pretty much. Is it that obvious?"

"Well, you sure are tensed up in that chair like it's the electric type." He laughed, watching Chris's face flare red. Making his way around the room, looking through all sorts of drawers and cabinets, he peered over his shoulder. "Stay still, dude. It'll hurt less if you're calm."

Chris took a deep breath in, clasping his hands over his chest as he stared up into the ceiling. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"So, what made you decide to get one anyway? A piercing, I mean."

"I don't know, really. I wanted to try something new, I guess. We were going to head to that one concert tonight, what was the name? PissHead?"

"Damn, you're headed to the PissHead show? Lucky you. I tried to buy some tickets last week, but they were all sold out." He settled down next to Chris, holding the tiny ring in his hand. "So, you got a preference as to which side?"

"Uhh," Chris hummed, thinking for a moment before taking the cartilage of his left nostril. "Maybe here?"

"You got it." Swabbing the surface with a cold alcohol wipe, he poked at Chris' nose, placing a mirror in his face afterward. "It look good there?"

"Yeah, I think it looks good there."

It was quick and significantly less painful than Chris had expected. After swapping out a new pair of gloves, it only took Dax a couple of minutes to get everything done. "Alright, there we go."

Chris was taken aback. "That was it?"

"Yup. Barely even felt anything, right?"

"I guess not..."

Noah looked up from his phone. "What do we owe you?"

"Well, that'll be about... $30."

"Shit," Noah hissed, fishing in his pocket for his wallet. "Mom'll be _pissed_ if I keep spendin' like this... here ya' go, Dax." He took the man into a handshake. "It's nice to see you, man. Seriously."

"You too."

Noah grinned, motioning to Chris towards the door. "C'mon, let's go see what Grace put Daniel in."

The walk to the thrift store was quicker than the walk from. Making their way back into the store, the boys stood for a moment, looking out upon the miles of clothing racks.

"Grace? Hey, Grace! You still here?"

"Yeah," she cried, "back here! Just putting the finishing touches on the look, come 'n' feast your eyes!"

Making their way through the store, Chris thought for a moment. What exactly would Grace have put Daniel in? Their styles didn't seem to be that different -- they were both into an 'edgier' look, so it couldn't have been anything surprising, right?

Boy, was Chris shocked.

"Oh my God," Noah gawked.

Daniel frowned, shifting in place as he folded his arms, covered in the long, black horizontal stripes of a long-sleeve white shirt underneath an old band shirt in front of him. "Shut up, dude. I know I look like a dweeb."

Noah stood, awestruck. "Oh my God, dude. You look like a fucking e-boy or some-- ow!" Hissing, Noah was taken aback by Grace's swift slap to his chest. "What the fuck was that for?"

"I'll have you know," she began, trying her best to put on a mean face, "I think he looks quite nice."

"He looks like he's trying too hard, Grace. Jesus, we're gonna get eaten alive at that show tonight..."

"Well," she retorted, turning to Chris, "what does he think? I like your piercing, by the way, it looks good on you, dude."

Chris smiled, nodding his head. "Thank you."

"You're welcome! Now c'mon 'n' spit it out, what do you think of my outfit for Daniel?"

"I don't know... I kinda like it."

Daniel's face fell. "Are you fucking serious?"

"Yeah," Chris took the time to look him over a second time. "I think it could work... just maybe."

"Jesus," he groaned, forcing his way through the three as he made his way through the store, "can we just get going already? I'm sick of standing around 'n' doing nothing."

With a couple of quick stops -- first dropping Grace off in the driveway of her house, and then to the Diaz household for a change of pants to match his new top -- the boys were finally on their way to the show.

If there was any part of the show that Chris had to say was the worst, the waiting line was up there on his list. It had seemed that almost _everyone_ in Seattle had come for the night to see the band, standing single file in the cramped entrance area for the venue -- a small, local theatre, usually used for indie movie showings, rented out for the night. Needless to say, the boys didn't have much elbow room as they waited to be let through.

And the smell. By God, Chris could not _believe_ the smell. He couldn't even begin to describe it, the pungent, skunky aroma taking his mind with a vice grip.

After a while of standing around, the three had finally made it into the venue, moseying over to a lone corner. It was a good spot, Daniel and Noah decided -- out of the way enough so it wouldn't get very crowded when the show got started, and yet close enough to the stage to watch the band in all their glory. The band was setting up for the night -- getting their instruments out and doing a couple of soundchecks before the _real_ crowd arrived.

"Hey, Chris!"

"Huh?" Chris looked up from the floor, his face turning red instantaneously. _"Have I been staring at the floor that whole time? Were they trying to say something to me? Was I--"_

"You feeling thirsty at all?"

Chris coughed into his fist, trying to clear his mind. "Maybe just a little bit. Why are you asking?"

"Well, me 'n' Noah were gonna go buy somethin' from the guys back out in the entry area, 'n' I wanted to know if you wanted anything before we left."

"I don't know... I'm fine with just water, I guess."

Daniel nodded, finger-gunning him. "One bottle 'o' water comin' right up."

"Wait!" Chris grabbed Daniel by the wrist, just barely missing the boy. "Shouldn't I come with you guys? So I can choose for myself or whatever?"

"Nah, just stay here 'n' keep our spots. I don't wanna fight a crackhead or somethin' to get our spots back later. Plus, I already know what you like." With a wink and a squeeze of Chris' hand, Daniel was on the move. Chris watched as he followed closely behind Noah, already in the middle of a conversation -- most likely about the show ahead of them -- and before long, the two rounded the corner. Out of sight, out of mind.

He stood with himself for a hot minute, laughing to himself. He could only imagine the other concert-goers' thoughts seeing someone like him at a place like this.

Idly fiddling with the new ring in his nose, Chris scanned the room quietly. Sean had told him about that tactic of drawing before; analyzing your surroundings before putting them down onto the paper. He was still working on it, there was much room for improvement.

Sighing, he began to make his way through the crowd. _"I don't think it'll hurt to check on them just for a couple of seconds..."_

The crowd had gotten much, _much_ heavier since the three of them had come. He had to make sure that he was extra concise with every person he bumped into, apologizing loud and clear as he tried his best to make it out of the sea of bodies.

He yelped, feeling a man -- much taller than him, and very, very sweat -- bump into him. He froze, feeling the crowd get rowdier with every passing second.

Pure pandemonium. It was the only way Chris could describe what happened after; the music blared over the speakers as the band began their routine as the volley of people began thrashing against each other with all the force they could muster. Chris would have been a goner. _Should_ have been.

He cried out as he felt himself being yanked forward through the ensuing moshpit, his wrist stinging from the force. He looked around, but try as he might, he couldn't find a face to match the action. It took them a while, but finally, the two made it to another corner -- exactly opposite to where Chris had been standing with Daniel and Noah, just as secluded as well.

"What the fuck are you doing walking around like that when they're starting?"

"I don't--" Chris stopped himself, cursing as he grit his teeth through the throbbing pain in his head. _"Do they_ have _to play the music that loud?"_

He took in a shallow breath, looking up at his savior -- a woman, not much older than Sean and Finn by the looks of it. "Sorry, I just-- I mean, thank you for--"

"What? This your first time going to a show like this?"

"Yeah... was it that obvious?" Chris frowned. This was the second time he'd been called out in the night. He was out of his depth.

"I mean," she said as she stepped backward, giving the boy space, "you're wearing some pretty fancy-looking shit-- unless you've got a suicide wish or _a lot_ of money, you probably wouldn't want to wear something so nice knowing this environment. Plus, you've got that general 'deer-in-headlights' look, not even some metal in your nose and paint in your hair can hide that."

She laughed, watching the boy squirm under her gaze. "Anyways, what's your name, kid?"

"Chris. It's Chris."

"Well," she grinned, shaking his hand, "nice to meet ya', Chris. Now, tell me; what, pray tell, the fuck is somebody like you doing here?"

"I'm here with... my friends. They're really into the band playing right now, and they decided to invite me along last minute."

"Ain't that how it always is? Say, how long have your 'friends' been into PissHead then, since you don't seem to be a fan?"

"Oh gosh... I don't know, really. As long as I've known both of them, and even that hasn't been very long..."

She snorted. "Babies. I've been a fan of them for _years,_ I've never missed a show."

"Really? Never?" Chris thought it over a second, the idea sounding more nonsensical with every passing second. "But, if you're, like, following them around like that all the time, where do you live? Where do you sleep? And work?"

"Well, me 'n' my girlfriend just... go. We do what we want when we want however we want."

"That sounds cool," Chris hummed as he looked down to the ground. He sighed. "I wish I could do that..."

_"Did she say girlfriend?"_

"Well, what's stopping you?"

"I... um, well, nothing really. School, maybe?"

"Jesus, how old are you?"

"Seventeen."

The stranger clicked her tongue. "Shit, I was long out of school by then. Not by my choice, but I didn't mind it one bit. I do like your hair, by the way. Where'd you get it done?"

"Oh, thanks! My fr-- my... _boyfriend_ actually did it for me in his bathroom."

"Well, it looks good anyways. He has a past in it, I'm guessing?"

"Yeah, he was really into it when we first met. He's stopped since then, but we wanted to try something new for the summer."

"Speak of the devil," she interrupted, motioning towards the two boys making their way towards them. "One of them's the lucky guy, right? That's probably my cue to leave. You enjoy the rest of the show, it was nice to meet you."

"Wait," he called out to the woman, watching her leave into the crowd. He yelled over the music, trying his best to grab the attention before she disappeared forever, never to be seen again. "I never asked! What's your name?!"

She looked back for a second, giving him a look. "It's Chloe!" With a nod of her head and a wave of her hand, she was gone.

"Hey, what're you doin' so far away from our corner?" Daniel stopped next to Chris, looking into the crowd ahead of them. "Not that this corner ain't any better. Who was that, by the way?"

"Nobody, just-- well, I'll tell you later..."

_I sway in place to a slow disco_

_And a glass for the saints, and a bar for the road_

_Am I thinking what everybody's thinkin'?_

_I'm so glad I came, but I can't wait to leave_

* * *

It was a quiet evening, long-deserved after the day of work Esteban had.

The boys stirred in their bedrooms -- Sean and Finn had tucked in earlier in the night after eating out with the rest of the crew, Chris and Daniel... Esteban was never sure with those two, there was always _something_ going on when they entered the fray.

The bedroom door clicked shut softly behind the two as they made their way out.

"--sure that they're fine with _both_ of us coming?"

"Jesus Christ... _yes,_ Chris. They're _your_ friends too, why wouldn't they be fine with you coming?"

"Maybe it's supposed to be, like, a private party?"

"A private party where half of our grade was invited?

"You never know..."

Esteban groaned, rising from the couch slowly. "Now, what are my two boys doing so gussied up for tonight?"

"Headed downtown," Daniel hummed as he patted himself down, running through a mental checklist, "Noah's throwin' a party."

"A party? I wasn't made aware of this, Daniel..."

He rolled his eyes. "Yes you were, dad, don't you remember? I went out of my way to tell you, like, a week in advance about it so you wouldn't freak later."

"...Did you?"

"Yes, I showed you his texts, made sure his mom okayed it with you, all that."

"Well, shit. I guess you did." Esteban sighed. "Sorry about that, mijo. You know it is -- growing old, your memory--"

Daniel whined. "Dad! You're not even that old, stop talking like that!"

Esteban chuckled, passing by his son and into the kitchen. "Whatever you say. How much did you need for tonight?"

"I don't need anything, it's--"

Esteban scoffed. "You? Going to a party? Not needing _any_ money? I find that hard to believe."

"I--"

"Seriously, Daniel. How much do you need for tonight?"

"I... uh, I think, like, $30?" Chris swallowed dryly. _"Money I owe Noah for my piercing."_ Nervously, he scratched at the metal in his nose, trying his best to not divert attention away from Daniel.

Esteban fished through his wallet, his hand emerging with two bills -- a twenty and a ten. He extended his arm out before immediately drawing back. "Will there be drinking?"

"Jesus..."

"Be honest with me, Daniel."

"I don't know... maybe?"

"Daniel..."

"I don't--" he groaned, taking a moment to flail around in place like a fussy infant. "Yeah, probably. Is that the answer you wanted?"

Esteban was silent. Slowly, he re-extended his arm out, wincing at the speed in which the dollar bills between his finger were snatched up. "Alright... hey, hey! Daniel!" He watched his son reenter the kitchen, already beginning his way out of the house.

"What?"

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

Daniel stared blankly for a moment, running mental gymnastics through his mind. "Nope, nothing that I can think of."

"Ah, I see; a hug from your papito is just _nothing_ now?"

Daniel groaned, making his way around the counter and back into the kitchen. "You're really gonna do this now?"

"Of course I am." He sighed deeply, pulling his son into a hug. Softly, he placed his head on his son's shoulder. "You're growing up so fast, mijo. Driving, going to parties with your friends -- hell, you're getting taller than Sean and me combined now."

"Oh my God, dad." Slipping from under his father's grasp, Daniel made his way back around the counter a second time and out the door. "C'mon, Chris, we're gonna be late!"

"Coming!" With a spring in his step, Chris skittered across the hardwood floor, following in his boyfriend's footsteps. 

"Hey, Chris?"

Chris bounced onto his heels, leaning back into the living room. "Yes?"

"I know that you'll be on your best behavior tonight... hopefully, but just for my sake... please watch out for Daniel. Make sure he doesn't do anything too reckless, alright?"

He nodded. "Will do, Esteban."

"Chris! Hurry your ass up!"

Esteban grinned, watching the door click behind the boy. Despite the muffling of his voice, he could still hear the blonde calling out to his son. "I'm coming, just wait!"

Esteban chuckled to himself. "Kids these days..."

"Geez, how loud are they playing the music in there?"

The whole neighborhood practically _shook_ along to the thumping beat of the party's playlist. One could even hear it from up the street.

Daniel laughed. "You know how he is. If it ain't gonna blow yer eardrums out, it ain't good enough for Noah."

The boys entered the house -- knocking wasn't necessary, it wasn't like anyone was going to hear them over the music anyways -- Chris frowned. _"Too loud."_

"You good?"

Chris put on a brave face, nudging Daniel. "What, you feeling worried about little old me?"

"I-- fuck you, dude. You complained for a fuckin' week about how you got a headache from how loud the concert was, I'm just looking out for you."

"I'm fine," he assured Daniel. "Thank you, though."

With the grace of a swan on Adderal, Noah emerged from the crowd, pulling the two into a tight group hug. "Heyyy, took you two long enough to get here!"

"Yeah," Daniel laughed, an apologetic sound. "Sorry 'bout that. My dad was askin' all sorts of questions 'bout tonight, you know how he is."

"It's fine, bro. Your dad is cool, it's no worry."

Slipping from the hug, Chris stepped forward sheepishly. "Here..."

Noah took a moment to look at the bills in Chris' hand. After a few seconds, he brightened, gladly taking the money from the blond's hand. "Fuck yeah! I was beginning to wonder when I need to shake you down for my money back." He laughed as he delivered a playful chop to the boy's chest, choosing to ignore the boy's cries as he clutched at the sore skin. "You two must be thirsty after that long ride -- the drinks are all the way... over there! Go help yourself." He began his way out of the conversation, turning back quickly. "I'll try to catch up with you two later, I just need to check up on some of the others first."

Chris thought it was strange. Here he was -- in the middle of a high school party surrounded by some of the rowdiest kids in the whole school, and no alcohol in sight.

Daniel was nowhere in sight -- he had left Chris alone quickly after being greeted at the door by Noah. "I'm just gonna go try 'n' Grace real quick, let her know we're here already."

_"Well,"_ Chris thought to himself, pouring himself a glass of punch, _"at least it_ looks _nice."_

First looks could be deceiving, Chris had learned that over the year. And there was no other time than right now where that proved true, the tang of the alcohol that had been poorly mixed in with the fruit punch hitting his tongue like a barrage of missiles.

His head swerved, looking around the room top-to-bottom for an easy path to somewhere-- _ANYWHERE_ he could spit out the drink. Without a clear view of where to go, let alone an idea of where anywhere was in the house, Chris had no choice but to buck up. He scrunched his face, shuddering as the liquid made its way down his throat.

_"Ack!"_

"I couldn't find Grace, texted her 'n' everything," Daniel began, exiting the crowd with his hands buried deep in his pockets. "What's with the funny face?"

"Here," Chris said as he handed the cup to Daniel. "Tell me if you notice anything... _funny_ about this."

"With pleasure." Chris watched as Daniel gladly took the cup from his hand, taking one big sip. "Damn," he choked out between wet, heavy coughs, "Noah pulled out the good shit for tonight, huh?"

Chris cringed, watching as dark pink dribbled down the sides of Daniel's mouth and chin. "You can have it if you want, I don't want to drink anything."

"Well, shit. More for me then!" He made his way over to the table beside Chris, happily pouring more into his cup. With a sound of content, he turned back. "C'mon, let's go say hi to everybody."

Daniel's other friends were... _interesting._ Aside from Grace and Noah, or those that Daniel reintroduced him to from earlier, such as the cashier from the movie theater, they were new faces. People Chris had never properly met before, some completely new and others only slightly familiar from a slight wave of the hand during passing periods, a wave only possible after knowing only some of his closeness with Daniel.

This time, however, Chris stood alone. Leaned against the wall, Chris surveyed the party around him -- the pounding music, the kids dancing around, and the dank, musky smell of pot.

He sipped slowly from the can in his hand -- soda-pop, Noah had been kind enough to grab a can specifically for him after had mentioned earlier in the night that he didn't care much for drinking.

"Hey, man." Chris turned, looking over as he felt Grace nudge him with her elbow. "It's good to see you here. If I weren't any better, I woulda thought you'd pussy out on us 'n' just stay home."

Chris chuckled, looking back to the crowd, dancing to the heavy-thumping beat of the song. "You guys don't put much faith in me, huh?"

"We ain't putting enough faith, it seems." Chris looked back at her, a smile slowly creeping across her face. "You've really come out of yer shell, dude. You ain't half bad for a goody-two-shoes." She laughed -- a nice, genuine sound, Chris thought to himself. "Anyways, how's the party going on your end?"

"It's pretty good, I guess. I've just been standing on the sidelines mostly, watching Danny dance with everyone. He introduced me to a couple of his other friends, actually. They all seem... nice."

"Yeah," she chuckled. "Nice, and _intense._ Don't worry, dude. They're not all like that, you know that already. There are some pretty cool ones." She patted him on the shoulder. "Like me. And Noah."

"Yeah," he smiled. "How're you doing, by the way? Daniel's been looking for you all night, did you not get any of his texts?"

"I'm good, I saw them. It's just that I haven't been able to get any free time to respond to them -- you wouldn't _believe_ the number of guys that have hit on me since I've got here." She stopped, motioning to a boy walking by -- somebody Chris didn't recognize. "Like _that one._ Been following me around for _hours,_ it's fuckin' annoying."

Talking with Grace was nice. Ever since Daniel had set things straight with her, Chris had finally felt like he could settle down and become true friends with her.

_"Lovin' you is easy 'cause you're beautiful--"_

Chris' gaze averted back to the crowd, watching them pause for a moment before returning to business as usual. "Seriously?" he asked, turning back to Grace. "You put this playlist together, right? Why's this playing? Not that I'm complaining, just doesn't really seem like party music is all."

Grace shook her head. "Nah, man. This wasn't me, someone must've grabbed my phone 'n' added somethin' while I wasn't looking, or--"

They jumped, watching Daniel practically _lunge_ from the crowd in front of them. "Chriss! This iss, like, yer song! We gotta get out there right now!"

Chris and Grace's gaze met. "I think we have an answer on who's the culprit. Go on, have some fun for once!"

Daniel dragged Chris to the middle of the floor, the two boys squeezing through all sorts of sweaty bodies on their way down to the dancefloor.

"What are you doing," Chris asked, finally finding himself stationary straight dab in the middle of the floor, "and why do I have the idea you're up to something tonight?"

"I'm not up to nothin'," he cooed as he inched closer to Chris, only stopping as the two of them stood nearly chest-to-chest. "Jusst wanted to have thiss special moment wit' you."

Chris frowned. "Are you drunk?"

What? Me?! No, I ain't drunk..."

"Dude, I can _literally_ smell the alcohol on your breath. How much of that punch did you drink?"

"I don't know... maybe two cups... or ten-- I wasn't really keeping count--"

Chris stepped back for a moment, wincing as Daniel followed his motion shortly after. "Jesus... and what's with the music? I'm guessing that was you?"

"Maybe... hol' on a second, just let me..."

"What are you--" Chris' eyes widened, feeling Daniel lift his arms around the back of his neck. "Dude...! What the fuck are you doing?!"

"I dunno," he answered, wrapping his arms around Chris' waist. "I just thought we could danse together. This iss, like, our ssong y'know."

"Our song? Really now..."

"Yeah," Daniel whispered, placing his head on Chris' -- he whined, feeling him pinch as he tried to cop a feel.

"Dude... not in public, what if someone--"

"Who the ffuck cares, bro? If I love you, what does it matter to anyone elsse?"

Chris winced. "You're talking too loud..."

"You think anyone's gonna object?" Chris' stomach dropped, watching his boyfriend throw his head back as he began to yell out.

"Dude," called out a stray voice, "you're drunk, shut the fuck up!"

"See," Daniel grinned, "nobody givess a shit. Y'know... that day we were ssitting in the car, you looked so fuckin' cute singing along to this song."

"He's right," Chris smiled, leaning into Daniel. "You really are drunk."

"Whatever. Dance wit' me? Please?"

"Woo! C'mon, Chris! Give the man what he wants!"

Chris' face went red, listening to Daniel cackle out at Grace's catcalling, their foreheads together as he placed drunken kisses all over his face.

Chris smiled. Despite his inebriated state, Daniel seemed actually _good_ at dancing. "Y'know," Chris began, looking up at Daniel, "you've gotten way better at this. Dancing, I mean."

"Well, I've been practicin' 'n' all that."

Chris snorted. "With who? You've been getting back together with Grace behind my back or something?"

"Nah, nahhhh," Daniel slurred, "just, like, dansin' 'round in the mirror 'n' shit back home."

He laughed. Chris couldn't help but laugh. Just the idea of it -- somebody as big as Daniel standing in front of the mirror, bumbling around, trying his best to get the moves down properly in his head -- it was all too much."

"What? What you laughin' for now?"

"Nothing," Chris smiled, his head lying on Daniel's shoulder. "You're just... such a dork sometimes, dude."

"Yeah," he said, his teeth and gums knacking against Chris' lips. "But you love it."

Bathrooms were an interesting way of learning a lot about people. The Diaz family's bathroom told Chris that it was a male-dominated house; the smell of Esteban's aftershave and Daniel's cheap cologne hitting like a freight train to the senses of anyone who dared entered the abode unprepared.

Noah's house? Well, Chris never got a good look at it on account of having to kneel down next to Daniel, patting his back as he blew chunks into the toilet bowl.

"Yeah," Chris whispered as he rubbed slow clockwise circles into his boyfriend's back, "let it all out." He frowned. Chris never liked being all too familiar with situations like these.

_"What do I usually do for dad when he's like this? Music?"_ Chris fished blindly through his pockets, finally making contact with his phone after a minute of fumbling through the wrong pockets and non-pockets. Taking a glance at the screen before turning it on, he cursed to himself. _"Almost twelve?!"_

Chris rose slowly, listening to Daniel whine out. "What...?"

"I just need to step out for a second," he explained, already halfway out the door. "It'll be quick. I promise."

This wasn't good. Here they were, sitting alone in their friend's house hours after their assigned curfew, drunk on alcohol-infused fruit punch with no explanation to their current situation. _"Fuck!"_

Before long, he stood idly, listening to the dial tone.

He was met by Sean's groggy voice -- he must have been asleep. "What is it?"

"Hey, Sean... where are you right now?"

"Sleeping in my bed. Why? What's wrong? You usually don't call this late unless something's happened."

"Yeah... that's the thing," Chris explained, fingers running through his hair as he leaned against the doorframe. "Danny and I... we kinda went out to a party tonight."

He could hear the cogs turning in Sean's head over the phone. "How'd that turn out?"

"Pretty good... pretty good. It's just that your brother... might've drunk a little too much."

"...Where is he now?"

Chris placed his ear to the door, listening to the boy heave on the inside. "He's hunched over the toilet."

"Jesus," Sean groaned, the box spring squeaking underneath him. Chris swore he could've heard Finn whine next to him. "I'll be there soon. Noah's place, right?"

"Yes," Chris confirmed.

"Alright, just... wait for me outside, I'll try to be there as fast as I can."

This time, Chris left the bathroom door open. Making his way towards Daniel, he surveyed the scene. _"Well,"_ he thought to himself, _"at least he can aim into the toilet."_

"C'mon now," he began, pulling the taller boy to his feet as gingerly as possible, "we've got to get going. Sean is on his way here."

Daniel scoffed, following Chris as they began their way down the hallways. "What? I'm ff-- I'm fine. I'm good to dri--" He gasped, feeling himself falter.

"Mmhmm, sure you are." He sighed, feeling Daniel grip his shoulder. "Fuck, Esteban is going to kill me if he sees you like this..."

"Why let 'im know? What he doesn't know won't kill 'im."

"Maybe." Chris stopped, readjusting Daniel over his shoulder. "Hopefully, your brother is feeling nice enough to let this slide."

"Sean? Hell no, he lovess to get back at me no matter what."

From the couch in the living room, Grace emerged into the scene. "Where are y'all-- Jesus, what happened to him?"

"We're headed home, Danny here drank a little too much tonight."

She laughed, following closely behind the two as the exited through the door. "Haven't seen him that out of it since we were in the eighth grade. He must've drunk a lot of that shit Noah dished out, huh?"

"Ten cups, he told me."

"Fuuuuck..." Having made their way into the cool night breeze, Grace settled down next to the blond boy.

"I'm sorry," Chris began, looking at Grace, "did you need a ride home? I called Sean to come and pick Danny and me up, I don't think he'd mind dropping you off back home."

"Nah," she said, "it's fine. I was planning on staying here with Noah for the night, he was gonna drop me off in the morning."

"Alright." Chris decided against thinking of the implications of her statement.

The boy's wait for Sean wasn't long, mainly on account of Chris stopping for Daniel to find his footing earlier in the halls. With Grace's help, Daniel made it into his brother's truck safely, his groans filling the small space as he clutched his stomach.

"So, how was the party?"

Chris turned in the backseat, waving to Grace as they drove off. "It was pretty good. I'm sorry for making you come out here to get us."

"It's fine," Sean sighed, leaning into the road. It was dark, darker than Chris had realized before getting into the truck. "Better to wake me up to come 'n' get you guys, rather than Daniel driving home drunk at this time of the night."

"Are you... going to tell Esteban about this?"

"Mmm..." Chris twitched, listening to the man in the front seat ponder the thought for a second. "Maybe not... only if Daniel cleans the bathroom for the rest of the week."

"Man," Daniel groaned as he sat up next to the blond, "that's-- _ughh..._ that's fucked up, man." Closing in, Daniel wrapped his arm around Chris's shoulder.

Chris squirmed under his touch. "Dude, stop!"

Daniel whined. "What? You don't like me now or ssomethin'?"

"You were literally just throwing up like twenty minutes ago, I'm not trying to--"

"Bullshit," he wailed, pouting his lips. "You don't love me anymore."

Daniel frowned, hearing Chris' laughter. "What'ss so funny? Thiss ain't a laughin' matter."

Chris continued, placing his head on Daniel's shoulder. "Nothing, you're just... funny when you're drunk."

"...So you still love me?"

Chris chuckled, thinking for a moment. After a second of silence, he nodded. "Yeah, I think I do."

_Through drought and famines, natural disaster_

_My baby's been around for me_

_Kingdoms have fallen, angels be calling_

_None of that could ever make me leave_

_Every time I look in your eyes I see it_

_You're all I need_

_Every time I get a bit inside I feel it_

_And I'll take some time_

_Just to be thankful_

_That I had days full of you_

_Before it winds down into_

_The memories, it's all just memories_

_This feels like summer_

_Boy, you make me feel so alive_

_Just be my lover_

_Boy ,you'll lead me to paradise_

* * *

It was _hot._ Hot enough where if it was too warm in one spot, it was too warm everywhere, the kind of heat that sank deep in your bones, cooking you from the inside-out.

Neither could remember exactly _when,_ but it was decided that instead of holing up in the house all day, Chris and Daniel decided to head out. There was no destination in mind, really. Just a quick walk around the neighborhood that lead them to Grace's house. After sticking around for an hour or two, hanging around in the backyard eating snacks and talking about the upcoming year, the two finally made their way home.

"Y'know, I don't think I ever asked you," Chris hummed, "you remember how Mr. Zidek talked to us near the end of the year about what we wanted to do, right?"

Daniel gazed at him warily. "Yeah? What about it?"

"Did you ever figure out what you wanted to do -- if you don't mind me asking, I mean."

"Well, shit." Daniel placed a kiss on Chris' hand, their hands clasping together as they walked down the sidewalk. "I've been thinking a lot lately... and I think I may finally have an idea."

"That's great! What were you thinking?"

"Well, you know how I was in... a pretty bad place when we first met, right?"

Chris nodded solemnly. "Yeah...?"

"I was just thinking maybe -- and don't laugh, it's just a thought -- but I was thinking that just maybe, I could work in... restorative justice or somethin' like that?"

"Danny," Chris began, giving his boyfriend's hand a reaffirming squeeze, "that sounds like a _great_ idea."

"Really? You think so?"

"Of course! Do you know how many people out there need help like that? You were sort of going down the same path, so I'm sure that the people who need it would really appreciate having somebody who understands those struggles... Danny? Are you even listening to me?"

"No, it's not like that, it's just that-- am I the only one who noticed it?"

"Noticed what?"

"It's just that, I don't know... maybe I'm being paranoid, but it seems like this car's been following us around for a while now."

"What? What do you mean?"

"Like... we're four blocks away from Grace's place, and they're _still_ on our asses."

"Maybe it's just her mom... what if she's trying to make sure we get home alright?"

"Nah, bro. I know her mom's car, and it doesn't look _anything_ like that. They've got _money_ money, she wouldn't drive an old dumpy thing like that."

"Do you think they're following us because we're... together? Oh God, Danny, we've been holding hands this whole time, what if they're going to try something? What if--"

"Hold on a second... come this way, let's just see if they continue before we start getting worried."

Taking a turn to the right on the sidewalk, Daniel's fears were confirmed; the car was following them, turning with them minutes after.

"Oh my God," Chris whispered, the fear in his voice evident, "what are we supposed to do? They can't be thinking of doing anything _too_ bad, right? We're just some kids-- maybe they're just gonna call us fags or something?"

"Maybe... but here, if we just take a quick shortcut, we can get back home without drawing attention--"

The car screeched to a stop. Standing idly, the boys watched as a figure stepped out, waving their arm wildly to the two. It seemed there wasn't anything wrong.

"Well, it doesn't seem like they're gonna hate crime us. Maybe I dropped my wallet a couple of blocks back or something... Chris? You good?"

Chris was frozen. It took him only a moment to realize the situation he was in. How could he be so foolish, to forget it all? Just hearing the man call out his name made Chris' blood run ice-cold.

Daniel watched as Chris _flew_ from the pavement, hopping over the fence and through the backyard of a random house. He ran after, cringing at the sounds of the inhabitants screaming. "Chris?! CHRIS?!" Daniel stopped dead in place, his eyes scanning the wooden fence. _"Holy shit,"_ he cursed to himself, _"how the fuck did someone so tiny scale this fucking thing?"_

His feet slammed against the concrete as he took the regular way home. He watched his father, holding Chris in his arms as he stared Daniel down.

"Daniel, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he huffed. _"Jesus, I really need to go jogging with Sean more often, I'm getting out of shape..."_ Daniel took a moment to compose himself, catching his breath. "I was going to ask you two the same -- Chris, do you need me to... fuck, I don't know, do you need anything from me or somethin'?"

"I'm fine," Chris said, gripping Esteban's shirt tightly, "it's just-- _fuck,_ my dad... how did he even find me?"

"It'll be fine, mijo," Esteban assured the blond, "we'll get this all sorted out, I promise--"

They stopped, hearing the car slowly pull onto the side of the road, far across from the Diaz residence.

_"Fuck,"_ Daniel cursed, _"did I actually lead him right to us?!"_

Everything went silent, the three watching in unease as slowly, Charles made his way to his son.

Esteban scowled, watching the strange man step into his world. In one swoop, he pulled Chris close to him, hiding him from the man's view. "If you take one more step on my property, so help me God I'll--"

Charles' hands shot up. "Alright, alright, let's not do anything too hasty. I just... want to talk with my son, that's all."

"What you're _going_ to do is step off my goddamned property and away from my family, if you know what's good for you."

"Wh-- _your_ family?! That's _my_ son behind you, goddamnit! I have a right to speak with him!"

Esteban scoffed. "You threw that right away when you disowned your son." Pulling the boy in close, Esteban felt Chris tremble against his frame. "I won't repeat myself! Get off my lawn before I have to bring in--"

"...Esteban?"

Esteban watched as Chris stared up at him, his big, blue eyes saying more than he could ever imagine. "I... I want to talk to him."

"What? You can't be serious, Christopher, he--"

He stopped, feeling the boy's hand rest on his shoulder. "Esteban. It'll be fine. Just like you said."

"I--" He honestly, _truly_ did not want this man in his home. This man he had heard so much about in such little time, all the things he had done to Chris over the years, how they escalated into the events that took place over the summer prior. And yet...

"Fine. You can talk to him-- but so help me God, if you try anything with this boy..."

"I'll... behave." Charles frowned, fanning himself off. "Can we talk inside? It's hotter than hell out here."

"You're fine out--" Esteban stopped, watching as Chris gave him a look of disapproval. "I-- fine. Follow me, I'll... lead you inside."

One could hear a pin drop, the four entered the house in uncomfortable silence. Chris spoke quietly, thinking over his words carefully. "...We can sit and talk here in the dining room if you want."

"Yeah," Charles murmured as he followed his son through the house. "That's fine."

They sat in silence. Shifting in his seat, Charles felt the older man's eyes beading down on him from far-off.

Chris turned. "Esteban... can we have some privacy please?"

Esteban stood unmoving, his arms crossed as he stared the man across from the child. "Dad..." He sighed heavily, turning in place. "Okay. We'll... be outside."

Waiting a few moments after the two had left, Chris finally spoke up. "...Do you want anything to drink? We have stuff in the fridge, I'm sure you're thirsty after the drive here." Charles nodded without a word.

Chris raised from his seat, returning to the table shortly with two cans. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize we didn't have water... I hope Coke is fine."

"It's fine." Charles stared on, watching his son settle back into his seat. "So... what were you doing outside?"

Chris stared him down, letting the _crack_ of the can opening cut through the awkward silence. "How did you know I was here?" He felt a sick sense of pleasure, watching his father jump at his question. He looked... different. It looked like he had actually shaved, the scraggly hairs that Chris had disliked ever since he was young long gone. And for once, he didn't reek of alcohol.

"I found out through the neighbors' mail," he said matter-of-factly, slowly pushing the can to the center of the table. "It was--"

"You... stole their mail?" He shuddered at the idea. _"Did he take anything from them? Money? What if they missed something important? What if Esteban had been trying to tell them about something, and they were out of the know because of_ his _father."_

"No, no. It's-- mailman sent it to the wrong house, that's all."

"Hey... you didn't answer my question. What were you doing outside? Back when you... ran off?"

"I was walking home from a friend's house. With my boyfriend."

"Hmm. _Boyfriend."_ Chris frowned. His father spat the word out -- as if it had a bitter taste in his mouth. "You sure have been spending a lot of time with him, huh? He's rubbing off on you-- your hair's got that shit in it again, and when the hell did you get a piercing?"

Chris fingered the piece of metal in his nose, staring at his father all the while. "Recently. I went to my first concert with him and the others, I--"

"A concert? The 'others?' What are you--"

"His-- _my_ other friends. They're nice, nicer than the kids back home. We wanted to try something new."

"Jesus," he groaned. "I've missed out on so much... how was the school year?"

"School's been good. I liked all my classes, the teachers are really nice. We're about to start our senior year, I was thinking of doing something with art and drawing when I graduate. Danny's brother--"

"Danny?"

"Yeah," Chris hummed without missing a beat. "Daniel, Claire and Stephen's grandson. His brother even said he'd put in a good word for me at the college he's attending."

"Drawing, huh? Yeah, I can see that. You always were good at that. Just like your mother..." He stared off for a moment, smiling sadly.

A warm, fuzzy feeling filled Chris' belly. Here Chris was, sitting with his father, engaged in an actual pleasant conversation. _His_ father. The man who was too drunk half the time to care, and too hungover to care the other half.

"So... you mentioned other friends? What are they like?"

"Well... they're all old friends of Danny's. There's Noah, he's pretty cool. He's the one who took me to the concert, it was this big punk rock thing. And Grace... she's intimidating, but really cool once you get to know her."

"And these friends... did they come to your birthday? Claire showed me the pictures... you looked happy."

"I _was_ happy. It was fun. But no, only Danny came."

"Hmmph. Some friends."

"It was my fault. I forgot to send out the invites."

Charles shifted in his seat, looking around the house for a moment. "Nice place you've got here... they come around often?"

"Sometimes, yeah. We mainly hang around Grace or Noah's--"

"Where are they now, if you're so buddy-buddy with them?"

"We were actually leaving Grace's when you came... we didn't want to sit around the house all day, so we went for a walk. That led to us walking past her house, so we hung out there for an hour or so."

"Where do you sleep? I only saw two rooms."

"Oh," Chris raised himself in his seat. "There are three rooms, actually. Esteban's -- that's Danny's dad, the guy you were... talking with when you got here -- his room is connected to the living room. The one to the right of the bathroom is Sean's, Danny's brother, and the one across from that is me and Danny's."

"That room big enough for the two of you?"

"Yeah, we sleep together, so there's plenty of room for my stuff."

"You're even sleeping in the same bed with him now? Jesus... you really do love that kid, don't you?"

Chris smiled, staring out the front window. "Yeah. I do."

Chris took a long sip from his can. "You don't want yours?"

"No... not really."

"Alright. Do you want a glass of water, at least?"

"No... I'm fine."

"Okay." Chris could feel the man staring into him as he shifted in his chair. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"What do you want? Why did you drive all the way over here to Seattle?"

Charles began to open his mouth -- but nothing came. Chris watched as his father began to pick at the dead, dried skin on his lips, racking his brain. "I'm... not really sure. I've started working."

"Working?" Chris frowned, seeing the gears in his father's head turn. "For what?"

"I... went out. I got a job."

"Why would you go and do something like that?"

"How else am I supposed to pay for rehab?"

Chris went silent. _"Rehab?"_

"I-- shit." Chris couldn't believe his eyes. Did it actually look like his father was about to _cry?_ "I have a problem, Chris. You of all people know that after all these years. I've... all this time since you've been away, I've been trying to get better."

"...What do you mean?"

"I've been going to rehab. Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. Fuck, I've even begun going to parenting classes. I'm trying, Chris. I really am. I--" That was the moment Charles broke.

Chris felt that familiar pang in his stomach, watching his father break down across the table from him. Between his ragged sobs, Chris could barely make out what his father was trying to say to him. "All this time... a whole year..."

Charles jumped, feeling his son's hand rest over his. "What are you... oh..."

He watched his son from across the table, a single teardrop rolling down his cheek. "Your face... God," he murmured to himself, slowly reaching out to his son. His hand settled on the boy's cheek, cupping it gently. He couldn't help it, letting out a small gasp. For _once,_ the boy didn't recoil at his touch. "You look more and more like your mother every day..."

"Dad," he whispered, paying no mind to the crack in his voice, "it's okay. You're trying, that's clear to me. You've been trying to get better -- not just for me, but for yourself."

"After everything I've done to you..." Charles sobbed, his tears dropping onto the table below, "you're too kind..."

With a heavy breath, Charles settled down in his seat. The two sat in silence for a moment, staring at each other before Chris finally spoke.

"So... what happens now? Do I... come back with you?"

"No." Chris felt guilty, feeling a sick sense of relief bubble in his stomach. "As much as I'd love that... there's still so much that I need to work through. But... whenever I'm ready, and whenever you want to, if ever... you're welcome to come home."

"I'll wait for you," Chris smiled, tearfully grasping his father's hand yet again, "no matter how long it takes."

"Well," Charles sighed, wiping the tears from his face as he raised from the chair. "I think I've taken enough of your day, making you listen to your old man. I should head out, I've probably overstayed my welcome anyways." He made his way to the door, giving the house one final look over. _"It's nice,"_ he thought to himself. _"It really looks like he's found somewhere for himself."_

"...Dad?"

"Yeah? What--" he stopped, feeling his son's body crash against his, tiny arms wrapping around his body tightly.

"It was nice to see you again. I... I missed you, dad."

Charles smiled, wrapping his arms around his son's back. "I missed you too, Chris."

Daniel's neck twisted, his head craning back as he heard the front door open with a _creak._ Esteban stopped in place. If he had gone on any further, walking the length of the deck back-and-forth, he would have worn it down. The two Eriksen men made their way to the Diazes.

"Hey," Charles said, taking Esteban's hand in his. "Thank you for trusting me. It means a lot."

"Yeah," Esteban coughed out, "I-- uh, yeah. You're welcome."

"You have a beautiful house, by the way. Thank you for letting Chris stay in it while I've been getting my shit together. I appreciate it."

"Thank you. And you're welcome. Chris--" he watched Chris pass by, settling down next to Daniel. The two sat in silence, their hands inching towards each other. " _Your son,_ he's been great. My boys, all of them, they love him."

"Yeah," Charles said, watching on with Esteban for a moment. "He's a good kid... if only his mother was here now. He's so much like her, y'know? Artistic. She loved to draw, just like him."

"I'm sure she'd be proud. That kid, he's gonna go far."

The three stood shoulder-to-shoulder, waving the man off as his tiny little car bumbled down the road, off into the distance. It was an almost melancholic look, Chris thought to himself. But, in the end, he felt content. It was a fresh start between him and his father. A new leaf turned for the better.

"Hey," Daniel cooed, placing a gentle kiss on the top of Chris' head as he took the boy in his arms. "You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah," Chris stared off, watching the car roll into the sunset. A smile crept onto his face as he leaned into the boy next to him.

"I think everything's going to be just fine."

_I will always love you how I do_

_Let go of a prayer for you_

_Just a sweet word_

_The table is prepared for you_

_Wishing you godspeed, glory_

_There will be mountains you won't move_

_Still, I'll always be there for you how I do_

_I let go of my claim on you_

_It's a free world_

_You look down on where you came from sometimes_

_But you'll have this place to call home always_

_This love will keep us through blinding of the eyes_

_Silence in the ears, darkness of the mind_

_Until it's time_

_I'll always love you_

_Until the time we die_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Fast Slow Disco](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNm0b2SCXxY) // St. Vincent  
> [Get You](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQFVqltOXRg) // Daniel Caesar  
> [Godspeed](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P18g4rKns6Q) // Frank Ocean  
> [Spotify Playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/57WdUoSVi9lxzOynxyEQ95?si=_UY21RjwR8aThw-6b2izOw)
> 
> Well… it’s over. That’s the end, folks! I’d like to thank everyone who joined me on this journey, it was a fantastic experience that I’m thankful I had!
> 
> To begin with, I’d like to give a quick shoutout to a couple of people, in particular, those of the Fean and Life is gay Discord servers for being supportive of this story venture from the get-go, for always giving advice for how to release chapters, and for always being supportive. Even if I’m no longer a member of these servers, your support has always meant a lot to me and I hope nothing but the best for all of you. :)) And, most importantly, I’d like to give a big thanks to all my dooters for being some of the sweetest and most supportive people I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting... BrenzHive rise up. :brennennails: :serio:
> 
> Originally, I wrote out this big, sappy and corny explanation of what I wanted to do when setting up the final redemption between Chris and his father Charles all the way back in chapter fourteen of Alone Together, but I’ve never been great at forming my thoughts into coherent ideas unless there’s a creative outlet to place it, so all I can say is that I believe that people can change. At the root of it all, Charles seems like a good man that was turned dark by the pain of losing somebody so important at such an important phase of his life, leaving him with nothing except an empty void and a young son to raise on his own.  
> I wanted to give him a happy ending, because lord knows that in a world as dark as ours currently, he deserves it just as much as everyone else.
> 
> I hope you all had as much fun reading this little crackpot fanfiction as I did writing it. As far as writing goes, you haven’t heard the last of me. I’ve got a couple of ideas for _My Hero Academia_ (as cringy as that may sound to some) since it’s been a huge special interest of mine as of late, I’m really excited about what I have going so far, and I’m really excited to share them with you all. I’m planning on finally releasing this upcoming story on a weekly schedule, so it’ll take a while before it comes.  
> Aside from that, I also have an idea or two for some original fiction, but we’ll get there when we get there. ;)
> 
> Feel free to follow me elsewhere, come say hi! I don't bite. :))  
> [Tumblr](https://apotofstu.tumblr.com)  
> [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/marcasshole/)  
> [Twitter (Writing)](https://twitter.com/MarcusBWriting)


End file.
